ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida A&M University band member has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for manslaughter and felony hazing in the death of a drum major.
Dante Martin becomes the first of 15 former band members charged to receive prison time
In Orlando on Friday, Judge Renee Roche sentenced him to a total of 77 months on Friday. Prosecutors wanted nine years for Martin in the beating death of 26-year-old Robert Champion during a brutal hazing ritual.
Martin was convicted in October during a trial in which prosecutors said he was the ringleader of the ritual.
He was the first to stand trial in the 2011 death of Champion, who was from Decatur, Georgia.
The case brought into focus the culture of hazing in the band.
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