The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a measure that would, in some cases, make hazing a felony. The proposed bill comes after an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Kentucky died in 2021 from alcohol poisoning.
Under the proposed legislation, first-degree hazing will be a Class D felony. Second-degree – when people recklessly engage in the act of hazing – will be a Class A misdemeanor, according to the bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Robby Mills (R-Henderson).
“Under Senate Bill 9, a person’s guilty of hazing in the first degree when he or she intentionally or wantonly engages in the act of hazing that results in the serious physical injury or death of a student,” Mills said.
The bill is also known as Lofton’s Law; family members of Lofton Hazelwood attended the meeting in the Capitol Annex. Hazelwood died in 2021 after consuming alcohol at a University of Kentucky fraternity house, his mother Tracey testified.
She said her son was initially excited about joining the fraternity, but everything changed as pledges were asked to participate in questionable activities.
On the night Lofton died, the fraternity brothers were supposed to go serenading, a common Greek activity. However, his mother said pledges were told it was a tradition to drink strong alcohol.
“My son’s blood alcohol was 0.354. He drank so much that he couldn’t walk, and they took him up to a bedroom upstairs and left him by himself. And they all left to go serenading,” she said.
Hazelwood said it was nearly an hour later when a young man came into the house and found her son had died.
“Senate Bill 9 will send a message that Kentucky values students’ safety. And Senate Bill 9 will hold people accountable, especially those responsible for serious bodily harm or death, as in Lofton’s case,” she said.
Mills said current Kentucky law leaves enforcement to universities and colleges with the maximum penalty of expulsion. SB 9 seeks to add Kentucky to a list of 13 other states that boost hazing to criminal status.
“We believe that the elevation of hazing to a crime addresses head-on the seriousness of these actions,” he said. “It lets students know that Kentucky values students’ safety. And any violations of their safety will be addressed.”
Sen. Johnnie Turner (R-Harlan) said the legislation will spell out consequences for hazing.
“So it’s very clear here the prosecutor will have no choice. If somebody’s injured, they’re going to get charged with that offense,” he said.
Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, said she supports the legislation and the courage of Lofton’s parents.
“Hazing is a problem. It is a big problem,” she said. “My child, in his fraternity, actually accepted the job of being the one to go and learn from national (headquarters) exactly what the rules were and to make sure that they were applied to the best of his ability at his fraternity.”
Information came from a release by the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.
