hazing

Beshear signs Lofton’s Law, criminalizing hazing

BY: - March 27, 2023

Hazing that causes death or serious injury can be prosecuted as a felony in Kentucky under a bill that Gov. Andy Beshear signed Monday. Senate Bill 9, also known as Lofton’s Law, defines hazing in Kentucky statute and establishes penalties for the behavior. Hazing that leads to injury or death is a Class D felony, […]

Anti-hazing Lofton’s Law passes House Judiciary Committee

BY: - March 15, 2023

FRANKFORT — An anti-hazing bill is one step closer to becoming law in Kentucky after a 15-1 vote by the House Judiciary Committee.  Known as Lofton’s Law, Senate Bill 9, was introduced after the death of 18-year-old Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood, a University of Kentucky freshman who was found unconscious in Farmhouse Fraternity after drinking approximately […]

Lofton’s Law headed for Senate, would make hazing that causes death or serious injury a felony

BY: - February 16, 2023

FRANKFORT — A bill that would make hazing a separate crime in Kentucky and provide prison sentences for hazing that causes injury or death cleared committee Thursday and now awaits a vote by the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from the mother of Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood, 18, who died in 2021 of alcohol poisoning […]

A son’s death. A mother’s quest. Hazing could become a felony in Kentucky.

BY: - February 15, 2023

LEXINGTON — The death of 18-year-old Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood sparked a conversation across Kentucky — one that, for many, was long overdue. On Oct. 18, 2021, the first-year student was found unconscious at the University of Kentucky’s Farmhouse Fraternity house. He later passed away from alcohol poisoning. “I had no clue what was going on. […]