Two men charged in the 2017 hazing death of a Penn State sophomore that prompted new legislation imposing tougher charges in similar cases were sentenced to two to four months in prison on Tuesday, prosecutors announced.
Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, were the leaders of the now-defunct Beta Theta Pi chapter at Penn State when a 19-year-old student pledge, Timothy Piazza, died after consuming large amounts of alcohol and suffering several falls in a hazing ritual. It involved 13 other pledges.
The pair pleaded guilty in July to 14 counts of hazing and one count of reckless endangerment. On Tuesday, they were each sentenced to two to four months in prison, followed by three years of probation plus community service, the Pennsylvania attorney general said in a news release.
Mr. Young and Mr. Casey had each faced charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, a felony, but those charges were dismissed.
Following the sentencing, prosecutors were keen to point out that the men would have faced felony charges and stiffer punishment had the Pennsylvania anti-hazing law adopted in Mr. Piazza’s name in October 2018 been on the books when he died.
“Nothing can undo the harm Tim suffered seven years ago — nothing can bring Tim back to his family and friends,” Michelle Henry, the attorney general, said in the news release. “With the sentences ordered today, the criminal process reached a conclusion.”
An anti-hazing law signed in 2021 in Mr. Piazza’s home state of New Jersey also bears his name.
Lawyers for Mr. Young and Mr. Casey could not be immediately reached on Tuesday evening.
An unconscious Mr. Piazza was seen at the university on the February morning after the night of his hazing and would die days later of damage to his brain and spleen, prosecutors said.
Video evidence from closed-circuit camera recordings showed Mr. Piazza passed out, injured and lying unaided, as the many people around him failed to seek help for more than 12 hours. He had hit his head after falling down some steps.
Mr. Young and Mr. Casey were the last two defendants sentenced in a case that had resulted in more than two dozen fraternity members being charged, according to The Associated Press. More than half pleaded guilty to alcohol- and hazing-related charges, while others were admitted into a diversion program, The A.P. reported.
Thomas R. Kline, a lawyer for the Piazza family, said they would seek “further accountability” through a civil case filed in federal court in 2019. That lawsuit’s complaint names more than 20 defendants, including Mr. Young and Mr. Casey.
In a statement, Mr. Piazza’s father, Jim Piazza, expressed disappointment that the more serious charges against the defendants had been dismissed, but said that the sentences ordered Tuesday were “reasoned and fair,” given the charges at hand. He said that he had doubts about whether Mr. Young and Mr. Casey felt remorse.
“While the defendants made nice speeches, one of which came with no emotion, about how they have changed, they still didn’t answer the many questions of why,” Jim Piazza said in a statement. “I do hope they learned from this matter and will eventually use that knowledge to do better in their lives and help us in our fight to eradicate hazing.”
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