FRATERNITY PLEDGE DIES IN HAZING RITUAL AT UNIVERSITY

What started as a fraternity initiation ended in tragedy when Michael Davis was pronounced dead due to head trauma on Feb. 15, 1994.

Davis, 25, of St. Louis was a junior at Southeast Missouri State University before he sustained fatal injuries in a hazing incident at the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex on campus. He had been a staff writer for the campus newspaper and was on track to graduate in December 1994.

Sixteen members and associates of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity were charged in Davis' death.

Charged were: Isaac Sims III, 22, of Cape Girardeau; Mikel J. Giles, 22, of Dallas, Texas; Carlos Turner, 19, of Florissant; Cedric Murphy, 22, of Memphis, Tenn.; Vincent L. King, 20, of Tallahassee, Fla.; Ronald Johnson, 23, of St. Louis; Keith Allen, 22 of St. Louis; Albert C. Bates, 21, of Belleville, Ill.; Larry H. Blue Jr., 23, of St. Louis; Karl Jefferson, 26, of St. Louis; Eric Keyes, 25, of St. Louis; Michael Q. Williams, 20, of St. Louis; Eric Massey, 21, of Memphis, Tenn.; Tyrone D. Davis, 23, of St. Louis; Terrence Rogers, 21, of St. Louis; and Laimmiore Taylor, 22 of St. Louis.

Seven of the defendants -- Taylor, Williams, Simms, King, Giles, Turner and Murphy -- were charged with involuntary manslaughter, a felony. All received one count or more of misdemeanor hazing.

There was a gap of about two hours between the time Davis was pronounced dead at the hospital and the time police began an investigation. The Cape Girardeau-Bollinger County Major Case Squad assigned about 20 regional investigators to the case, and within a week five members of the fraternity were arrested.

Eleven other members and associates would be arrested within two weeks.

According to investigators, firefighters were summoned to Davis' apartment at 439 N. Sprigg at about 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 for a report of a man in full respiratory arrest. Davis was not breathing when firefighters arrived and was later declared dead by Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Carpenter at St. Francis Medical Center.

When fraternity members were first questioned, they had told police that Davis had been injured while playing football the day before his death. Further investigation revealed that Davis and two other pledges had endured about a week of beatings as part of initiation rituals.

The night before his death, the pledges were taken to the university track, where they were beaten by fraternity members and slammed to the ground for about an hour. They also were given beer to drink.

The fraternity's charter was permanently banned from the university on Feb. 17. Then-president Kala Stroup said she made the decision because there was sufficient evidence that the fraternity had engaged in hazing. The dismissal was immediate and permanent.

Of the 21 Greek organizations on campus when the fraternity was banned, there were three predominantly black sororities and three predominantly black fraternities. There were also 10 predominately white fraternities and five predominately white sororities at the university.

Greek-letter organizations came under scrutiny after the incident. Members blamed lack of supervision for Davis' death, and numerous seminars and meetings were held to bring an end to hazing and to prevent further tragedies.

Davis' death also brought the university into a national spotlight, with network television and national newspaper coverage. Trials for the 16 men accused in Davis' death were eventually moved to St. Louis on changes of venue. The media attention and small number of blacks eligible for jury duty were listed as reasons for the move.

Criminal trials were held for an entire year following the incident. In all, six of the seven members charged with manslaughter settled their cases out of court. Only one, Laimmiore Taylor, went to trial. Taylor, who had been president of the fraternity, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and five counts of misdemeanor hazing.

He was sentenced to a year in jail for the misdemeanor counts and an additional year on the manslaughter charge. However, Taylor received a suspended imposition of the felony sentence and was confined less than two weeks before being released on an electronic ankle shackle program.

On Dec. 19, 1996, the book on the tragedy was closed when the Davis family reached a $2.25 million settlement with the fraternity and its members. The wrongful death suit had been filed in May 1994 by Edith and Boyd Davis, Michael Davis' parents, who said they hoped the action would bring an end to fraternity hazing.