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25 years later, SEMO Hazing Death Consequences Remain

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Twenty-five years after Michael Davis died from injuries suffered in a brutal fraternity hazing ritual at Southeast Missouri State University, his death still has far-reaching consequences.
Davis was pledging the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity when he died from internal bleeding on February 15, 1994, after collapsing a day earlier. The autopsy found fractured ribs, lung, liver and kidney damage, a bruised and bleeding heart, and spinal hemorrhaging.

More than a dozen men associated with Kappa Alpha Psi, a traditionally black fraternity, were prosecuted, including seven for involuntary manslaughter. Sentences ranged from probation to incarceration. SEMO banned the fraternity.

The Southeast Missourian reports the fallout included legislation in Missouri creating a felony for serious hazing, and national scrutiny of fraternity hazing practices.
 

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