Former Penn State frat leaders sentenced to 2–4 months for 2017 hazing death

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Two former leaders of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Penn State University were sentenced to two to four months in prison for their role in the 2017 hazing death of a sophomore pledge.

Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, were sentenced Tuesday after they pleaded guilty to 14 counts of hazing and a single count of reckless endangerment in the death of Timothy Piazza, the state attorney general said in a release.

The two are eligible for work release and must also serve three years probation with additional community service, the office wrote.

Young and Casey were leaders of the fraternity at the time of Piazza’s death. The 19-year-old sophomore died days after he participated in a hazing event Feb. 2, 2017 at the fraternity on Penn State’s campus in Centre County.

Investigators said that he’d consumed large amounts of alcohol and died as a result of several falls he took, claiming that video footage showed Piazza consumed at least 18 drinks in a little less than an hour-and-a-half, with brothers in the fraternity handing him the alcohol.

Young and Casey participated in and facilitated the hazing event, prosecutors said.

Piazza’s death spurred the passing of the Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law in 2018 in Pennsylvania, which establishes a tier system for hazing charges that allows for harsher penalties in cases of serious injury or death. New Jersey has also adopted a version of the law.

The law did not apply to Casey nor Young as the statute was not in effect at the time of the incident.

“Our thoughts are with the Piazza family and everyone affected by this tragedy,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said. “Nothing can undo the harm Tim suffered seven years ago — nothing can bring Tim back to his family and friends. With the sentences ordered today, the criminal process reached a conclusion.”