New state law cracking down on hazing honors WSU student who died in 2019

On Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a new law that cracks down on hazing. The law was named after a Washington State Student who died from hazing in 2019 while he was pledging a fraternity.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - On Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a new law that cracks down on hazing. The law was named after a Washington State Student who died from hazing in 2019 while he was pledging a fraternity.

In 2019, Jolayne Houtz and Hector Martinez faced a parents’ worst nightmare: they found out their 19-year-old son, Sam, died while at Washington State University.

Martinez died from alcohol poisoning. He and another student drank about half a gallon of rum while pledging Alpha Tau Omega.

Fifteen people were charged in connection Martinez’s death. The person who gave him the rum got 19 days in jail. The others got one or two days of community service.

"We’re going to hold folks accountable who are involved in these really, kind of tragic deaths," said Rep. Mari Leavitt (D-28th District), a sponsor of the bill.

Leavitt worked with Martinez’s family to get House Bill 1002 passed. The bill is also known as the Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Law.

The law increases hazing from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor, which means longer jail time and higher fines.

The law also increases the punishment to a felony if someone is hurt or dies.

"I pray that we will never see another hazing death in Washington State," said Houtz.

Houtz said next week would have been her son’s college graduation. She is hopeful this law will prevent any other families from facing the same tragedy.

"Definitely is powerful to think that, because of the work that so many people have stepped up to do around tackling hazing in this state, somebody else’s child may walk across that stage in the future and get their diploma because they didn’t experience hazing," said Houtz.