A potential plea deal for Benjamin McNamee, one of four defendants charged in the death of a Florida A&M University (FAMU) drum major, is now off the table.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Marc Lubet was hearing the case before Judge Rene Roche took over and the former had already rejected the plea deal. There were originally 15 defendants charged in killing Robert Champion, who died after a hazing ritual on a FAMU marching band bus.
The four defendants, all former band members, are the last to have their cases settled and most of the others were sentenced with probation and community service. The AP previously reported that Rocha ruled that the FAMU marching band's history of hazing will be permissible discussion in trial.
Both the defense and the prosecution agreed that Champion's homosexuality was irrelevant to the case, as none of the defendants ever mentioned it. Rocha also ruled that manslaughter should not be dropped as a charge against each of the four defendants. The trial is set to go to court next week.
Champion, 26, died after a hazing ritual on the bus of the nationally acclaimed FAMU Marching 100. The ritual involved Champion walking from the front of the bus to the back while other members punched him, kicked him and beat him with various objects.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the defense is arguing that the hazing ritual was a "contest," citing Florida's confusing and vague hazing laws.
"However brutal you make think it may be, crossing Bus C was competitive," Richard Escobar, a defense attorney in the case, told the Democrat. "You have an individual who was crossing, along with three or four of his buddies, trying to get him from the front of the bus to the back of the bus... By its very definition, that's competitive."
Champion reportedly vomited after he finished the ritual before later complaining of being short of breath. With bruises covering his torso and arms, Champion fell unconscious and died of hemorrhagic shock from the tissue damage brought on by blunt force trauma.
