ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS News/AP) - A prosecutor said most of the 13 people charged in the death of Florida A&M university drum major will face a felony hazing charge.
The prosecutor announced the charges at a news conference Wednesday. State Attorney Lawson Lamar said 11 of the 13 people charged will face the felony charge. The others will face a misdemeanor charge.
Lamar said a conviction for felony hazing could bring up to nearly six years in prison.
The charges come more than five months after 26-year-old Robert Champion died aboard a chartered bus parked outside an Orlando hotel.
Detectives said Champion was hazed by band members following a performance, and witnesses told emergency dispatchers Champion was vomiting before he was found unresponsive aboard the bus.
The medical examiner's office said Champion had bruises to his chest, arms, shoulder and back. His internal bleeding caused him to go into shock, which killed him.
The parents of the dead student, Pam and Robert Champion Sr., said any arrests will be five months overdue.
"When someone loses their life because of a crime, they should be punished," Champion Sr. told CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.
"The most important thing is that the example needs to be set," his mother said. "It needs to be an example that sets the stage of what will not be tolerated."
In the hazing ritual, Champion was allegedly kicked, punched and stomped as he ran from the front of the bus to the back. He collapsed and died on his way to the hospital.
After his death, the school's band director admitted its hazing history stretched back four decades. Just this week, two music professors were fired for participating in band hazing.
Champion's parents have sued the bus company, Fabulous Coach Lines, and plan to sue the school.
"They're going to have to clean the house," Champion's mother said. "They're going to have to step up and do what they know is the right thing to do ... Get rid of the filth that's there. Everything is out in the open, so you can't continue business as usual."
The university has appointed a task force to investigate its hazing culture and suspended all band activities.
(The Associated Press/CBS News.)
Florida A&M Marching 100 Drum Major Robert Champion during a performance at halftime of the game against Howard University at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Oct. 8, 2011 in Tallahassee, Florida. (AP Photo)
