Oroville, Calif. — A judge raised the possibility that four fraternity members could be charged with torture in the death of a 21-year-old pledge, comparing the alleged hazing death to the torture of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Robert Glusman said Friday that a summary of facts in the legal motions filed by attorneys appeared to support that charge, which would carry a potential life sentence.
"U.S. soldiers were charged with torturing Iraqi prisoners for doing far less than what happened in that basement," Glusman said.
The four members of the now-defunct Chi Tau house at Chico State University are currently charged with involuntary manslaughter and hazing, which carry a maximum of four years in prison if convicted.
They are accused of forcing Matthew Carrington, 21, to drink large amounts of water while performing calisthenics in the frigid basement as part of initiation rite on Feb. 2. Carrington collapsed and died of heart failure due to water intoxication.
The judge raised the possible torture charge after the defendants' attorneys argued Friday that hazing charges should be dismissed because the rogue fraternity was not an official student organization, and therefore not subject to hazing statutes - and that two of the defendants were not even attending college at the time.
Glusman said the torture charge would avoid the ambiguity of hazing laws. He continued the pretrial hearing to Aug. 26.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey said outside of court that the judge has the authority to add a charge of torture if he believes the evidence warrants it.
"We considered torture, but since it was a life term, we felt hazing was a more appropriate charge," Ramsey told the Chico Enterprise-Record.
Defense attorney Dennis Latimer said he was surprised by the judge's comments and declined to comment further about the possible charges his client might face.
Three other members of the fraternity face misdemeanor hazing charges.
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