Plea offers in Coffey hazing case raise questions of race, privilege

When State’s Attorney Jack Campbell announced in January that nine members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity were hit with felony hazing charges, many viewed it as the right step in acquiring justice for pledge Andrew Coffey who died last fall.

The possibility of prison terms seemed to send a clear message.

“These arrests are the first step in seeking justice for Andrew and his loved ones, and they will inform us on where we need to place our focus as we proceed," FSU President John Thrasher said.

But two months later, Campbell’s offer of plea deals that could result in the defendants serving two months in Leon County Detention or 60 days in the sheriff’s workcamp and having records expunged, is raising eyebrows.

Is race and privilege a factor in the plea offered to nine defendants who are white and represented by prominent counsel?

“I think the result shows systematic inequality,” Tallahassee defense attorney Chuck Hobbs Jr. said. “I do not believe Jack Campbell tried to make a decision based upon race, but the impact is all the same. That is something I see all the time.”

Hobbs added, “I can’t think of one case where the (plea) offers included misdemeanors this early in the game.”

A former prosecutor, Hobbs said he also can understand Campbell being concerned about proving the felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

Campbell would not discuss details of the case or his decision to offer the pleas. But, he strongly denied race or privilege had anything to do with his decision.

“I’ve had lots of people talk to me about this case on lots of different angles,” Campbell said. “I have not had race or privilege raised as being a factor.

“To suggest that race plays a part in any of my plea offerings, I would refute that,” he continued. “The race of the victim or the defendants has no bearings. I am concerned if anybody suggests that race or privilege affects how this office operates. I deny it being a factor in this case or any case.”

David Bianchi, who is representing the Coffey family in civil litigation against the national offices of Pi Kappa Phi and the nine men charged, said the family stands behind Campbell in prosecuting the case.

“To the extent that any of the defendants plead guilty, they would be doing the right thing,” Bianchi said. “They are acknowledging that what they did was wrong and helping to resolve the criminal case without prolonging the process for themselves and Andrew Coffey’s family.

“We have great confidence in Jack Campbell and trust his judgment regarding how he deals with the offer and acceptance of pleas,” Bianchi said. “The judge will decide what the punishment will be and Mr. and Mrs. Coffey will be present to express their views on that."

No early plea offers in 2006 hazing trial

Hobbs refers to a case in 2006 when he represented four members of the Alpha Xi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at Florida A&M University. A fifth member was represented by attorney Richard Keith Alan II.

The fraternity brothers were the first to face felony hazing charges under the state’s Chad Meredith Act, which was passed in 2005 and made hazing a third-degree felony.

The victim in the case was Marcus Jones, who suffered hematoma on his buttocks and a perforated eardrum as a result of hazing.

Michael Morton, Brian Bowman, Cory Gray, Marcus Hughes and Jason Harris were charged. The case first went to trial Sept. 27 and ended with a hung jury.

The case was retried in December 2016. Jurors found Morton, 23, and Harris, 25, guilty on charges of hazing. A second mistrial was declared for the other men.

Morton and Harris were sentenced to two years in prison. Their conviction was later overturned by the 1st District Court of Appeal, but by that time, they had served most of their sentence, having been denied bond while the case was on appeal.

Bowman, Gray and Hughes were allowed to enter a plea to one count of misdemeanor hazing, reduced from felony hazing, with adjudication withheld, instead of facing a third trial in 2007 when a conviction could send them to prison.

Hobbs points out the five Kappa Alpha Psi members were facing prison sentences for their alleged role in Jones’ beating. He was injured. The Pi Kappa Phi members face 60 days in jail for charges after their actions at Big Brother night on Nov. 2 led to Coffey's death after drinking a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon.

“We went through months of discovery and we got a plea offer on the eve of the trial beginning,” Hobbs said of the first trial.

“I think the public perception is with offers like these (in the Coffey case), it gives the impression that ‘boys will be boys’ mindset has taken hold,” Hobbs said.

“None of these young defendants will be held accountable for a manslaughter that occurred under their watches.”

Hobbs also referred to representing a FAMU student charged with cruelty to an animal following a dog’s death. The client was offered a plea placing him in jail for six months.

“Here, we have a human being die as a result of manslaughter and they are offered 60 days in the county jail,” he said. “The dog died through negligence. Manslaughter under the law is negligence.”

The case involving Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity from 2006 and the recent Pi Kappa Phi case are examples of the difference in hazing cultures associated with predominantly white fraternities and black fraternities.

Researchers point out hazing allegations among black Greek organizations usually stems from physical or mental violence or sleep deprivation, while alcohol abuse, rough-house antics and sexual exploitation of women is often associated with incidents involving white fraternities.

In February, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was suspended at the University of Pittsburg following allegations from a dozen pledges of the predominantly black sorority that a pledge was bruised during an off-campus meeting.

Last year, Timothy Piazza, a student at Penn State University, died from injuries following a series of falls during a pledge celebration at the Beta Theta Pi house. Excessive alcohol abuse was a major factor and 26 fraternity members now face charges.

Is privilege present?

The privilege of "frat boys" has been a concern for Professor Ibram X. Kendi, whose essay "What's the Difference between a frat and a gang" was recently published in The Atlantic.

Kendi, director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, said comparing the two fraternity cases paints a striking difference in how justice is pursued.

“I definitely think this approach is going to cause people to think Florida’s judicial system is unfair,” said Kendi, who earned his undergraduate degree from FAMU in 2004. He is the author of “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2016.

“Black people are feeling the justice system, whether they are victimizers or victims, is not treating them fairly.”

In the Coffey case, Kendi said he suspects prosecutors realize what the public perception may be, “but they just don’t care.”

“They deny racism in Florida just like their counterparts in other states,” he said. “They do that to keep their jobs. Why would they convict themselves?”

Another factor at play, he said, is the different perception of collegiate white fraternity brothers and those not on the college-track in a courtroom.In his Atlantic essay, Kendi warns that the disconnect between the way prosecutors and judges treat a teen Latino gang member versus a 21-year-old white fraternity brother show us "the self-destructive essence of American bigotry."

One group can be given a second chance, while the other group is pre-determined not to succeed, he said.

“I think fraternities are viewed much more positively in the midst of what they do,” he said. “It is because of the expectation of white men not being violent, but immature and naïve.

“We are more compassionate with a person on a path to success versus people we have decided are not on a similar path,” he said.

“(The plea offer) symbolizes giving these white fraternity members a second chance that is often not given to people of color,” he said.

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.