Dive Brief:

• The first jail sentence has been handed down in the case of the Florida A&M marching band hazing death.
• Jessie Baskin, 22, was sentenced to 51 weeks in jail, five years of probation, and 300 hours of community service. He had pleaded no contest to manslaughter charges that carried a possible sentence of nine years in prison.
• Baskin participated in the death of 26-year-old drum major Robert Champion in November 2011 during a hazing ritual on a bus. Champion died after band members beat him with their fists and musical instruments.

Dive Insight:

This is one of the tragedies that has hopefully turned the tide against the college hazing culture. The judge who passed down the sentence, Marc Lubet, said he hoped that a year in jail would send the message that hazing will not be tolerated. In all, 15 former band members were charged with manslaughter and hazing in the Champion case, with seven sentenced to combinations of probation and community service so far. Another band member, Caleb Jackson, is awaiting sentencing after pleading no contest to manslaughter.