A Tallahassee judge today reversed the hazing conviction of two former FAMU students and ordered a new trial. .
Michael J. Morton and Jason D. Harris, members of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, were convicted in December 2006 under Florida’s new hazing law.
Morton and Harris, who were sentenced to two years in prison, challenged the constitutionality of the felony hazing law. The 1st District Court of Appeal today rejected to two men’s challenge to the law and upheld it as constitutional.
However, the ruling went on to say that the court erred in its instructions to the jury, which entitled the men to a new trial.
"We cannot conclude the error in the jury instruction was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt," the court wrote. "The prosecutor, in keeping with the jury instruction, told jurors during closing argument, 'Serious is distinguished from slight. The injury sustained by Marcus Jones was by no means light.' "
Jones' injuries were sustained during an initiation.
Also see: Found guilty
It is a shame that they had to sit in prison all of this time. They will never get those years back.
ReplyDeleteThese two thugs need to stay in prison a little longer.
ReplyDelete11:11pm
ReplyDeleteMaybe they should learn not to play with other young men's @$$'s
...... unless they want criminals to play with theirs!
That's just mean.
ReplyDeleteANON 11:11, "innocent" black men have sat in jail far longer than 18months -- some, like 20 & 25 years. allan crotzer, the guy who was recently exonerated for raping a woman 28? years ago, sat on death row all those years. Now, if you want to talk about someone not getting "those years back," use his case as an example. Not these stupid college boys. They can "get back" 18 months. Crotzer (and others who have been exonerated by DNA testing) have lost three decades of their lives. That's 30 years. No one cares about these thuggish boys, except their mamas -- and, apparently you.
ReplyDeletecorrection on my above post: Crotzer wasn't on death row; he was, however, in prison. I stand corrected on the death row statement.
ReplyDeletecorrection on my above post: Crotzer wasn't on death row; he was, however, in prison. I stand corrected on the death row statement.
ReplyDeleteStupid Black folks reading and only believing what they had have been "fed" in through the media....First the only reason these two guys were convicted was because the Judge was a conviction more than the State Attorney. That's why she rigged the jury instruction. Read the court documents. Secondly, these two guys sat in prison without bond pending appeal once again because an unjust Judge wanted to continue to send her "message" by denying these guys bond pending appeal saying that their issue's on appeal were "frivolous"...once again you weren't fed that in the media so it isn't the "truth or Facts" to you all. Lastly, the State's case concerning both men is extremely weak, the victim even testified that the one guy never touched him, yet he was convicted, furthermore he testified that he didn't now who touched him some nights or who was present. Now look as the both side of the story something just does not right! Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free!!!
ReplyDeleteStupid Black Folks,Ignorance to law it not a valid reason to write your opinion that lacks the simple facts to support it and only believing what you had have been "fed" through the media. First the only reason these two guys were convicted was because the Judge Dekker wanted a conviction more than the State Attorney. That's why she rigged the jury instruction. A simple look at the court documents reveal such! Secondly, these two guys sat in prison without bond pending appeal, once again because an unjust Judge wanted to send her "message" by denying these guys bond pending appeal saying that their issue's on appeal were "frivolous"...once again you weren't fed that in the media so it isn't the "truth or Facts" to you all. Lastly, the State's case concerning both men is extremely suspect, the victim even testified that the one guy never touched him, yet he was convicted, furthermore he testified that he didn't now who touched him some nights or who was present. Now look as the both side of the story something just does not right! Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free!!!
ReplyDelete"First the only reason these two guys were convicted was because the Judge was a conviction more than the State Attorney."
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell are you talking about? The Judge is a conviction? That makes no sense!
Bottom line.....their attorney, Richard Alan, pissed the Judge off and she took it out on these guys. Mr. Alan didn't think about the effect his actions would have on his clients and for that, he is wrong! I am an attorney in Leon County and you just don't go into Judge Dekker's courtroom and disrespect her like that. Should she have taken her dislike for Richard out on his clients? Of course not! But it happens all the time. When Richard Alan showed up late to court on the first day of trial, he set a bad precedent with Judge Dekker. The clients should have filed an appeal for ineffective assistance of counsel and then filed a bar complaint against him. This probably won't happen though since he too is a Kappa.
ReplyDeleteANON 1:21, I think the poster above you probably meant to type: "The judge wanted a conviction," not "the judge is a conviction." It's not enough of an error to get bent out of shape about.
ReplyDeleteWord on the street is that the two Kappas sodomized that boy; that's why the judge was so hard on them. The street committee says the guy had an inkling for, ahem, folks of his persuasion, and the Kapps didn't want him in the club. That's what's circulatin' on the avenue. Koze now, I own know how much truth there is to it, but a few reputable folks in the know say that was the for-real deal, but the newspaper didn't report this part. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteclarification on my above post:
ReplyDeletethe alledged act of sodomy occurred with, well. . . I don't reckon it makes much difference to say how the act was carried out, but that darn committee says it occurred with the, ahem (again) thinnest part of a 'paddle' of some sort.
Who ever left their comment about Mr. Alan is not informed. Mr. Alan was late to court because he was at the First District Court of Appeal filing a motion on behalf of his client, Jason D. Harris. Become more aware of the details involved in this case by logging onto: www.demandjudicialoversight.com
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Mr. Alan is not a Kappa. He is a 32nd Degree Mason. Whoever wrote that comment should really do his/her homework. Also, if you are in fact an attorney, PLEASE pull the court file and read it. Had it not been for Mr. Alan's objections (placed on the record in open court) to Judge Dekker's incorrect illegal jury instruction THERE WOULD BE NO REVERSAL OF JASON AND MICHAEL'S CONVICTIONS. Please stop spreading inaccurrate information. . .
ReplyDeleteAmen Anonymous at 9:32 pm. Negroes are always willing to believe whatever the "man" tells them. Posters on this site continuously talk abut what they heard instead of what they know.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter if Alan was at the 1st DCA filing an appeal....he was DISRESPECTFUL to the court!!! Everyone knows you don't show up to court late and even if you know you will be late....you must notify the court which he failed to do. The judge was just sitting there wondering where he was. Alan needs to take Professional Responsibility b/c it's obvious he didn't learn it in law school. I respect your disagreement. Not a problem at all. I just hope he tones it down before he causes other clients to go to jail. Have you ever thought about the fact that Judge Dekker didn't grant bond pending the appeal, as happens most of the time? Alan pissed her off and again, his clients suffered! I reiterate....both Jason and Michael need to file bar complaints against him. So glad the convictions have been overturned, but it's a travesty they had to sit in jail for almost 2 years before the reversal.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they have another attorney? Hobbs I think.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Hobbs represented them as well.
ReplyDeleteTo the poster who said that the victim was sodomized; totally untrue. Please stop spreading those false stories; especially on a comment such as this.
ReplyDelete