This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/nyregion/conviction-thrown-out-for-rutgers-student-in-tyler-clementi-case.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Conviction Thrown Out for Ex-Rutgers Student in Tyler Clementi Case | Conviction Thrown Out for Ex-Rutgers Student in Tyler Clementi Case |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| An appeals court in New Jersey threw out the conviction of a former Rutgers University student whose roommate committed suicide after being spied on while he was having sex with another man. | An appeals court in New Jersey threw out the conviction of a former Rutgers University student whose roommate committed suicide after being spied on while he was having sex with another man. |
| The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Newark overturned a lower court’s conviction of Dharun Ravi on several counts of bias intimidation because of a change in state law. The court ordered a new trial of Mr. Ravi on 10 other counts that included invasion of privacy and tampering with evidence. | The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Newark overturned a lower court’s conviction of Dharun Ravi on several counts of bias intimidation because of a change in state law. The court ordered a new trial of Mr. Ravi on 10 other counts that included invasion of privacy and tampering with evidence. |
| Mr. Ravi was convicted in 2012 after his freshman roommate, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge in 2010. Mr. Clementi’s suicide, which came just days after he learned of Mr. Ravi’s spying, became a rallying point against the bullying of gay teenagers. | Mr. Ravi was convicted in 2012 after his freshman roommate, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge in 2010. Mr. Clementi’s suicide, which came just days after he learned of Mr. Ravi’s spying, became a rallying point against the bullying of gay teenagers. |
| Some of the charges on which Mr. Ravi was convicted fell under a state statute on bias intimidation that was unlike any other in the United States. It said defendants could be convicted if their victims “reasonably believed” that they were harassed or intimidated because of a characteristic such as race or sexual orientation. But last year, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the bias-intimidation law was unconstitutional. | Some of the charges on which Mr. Ravi was convicted fell under a state statute on bias intimidation that was unlike any other in the United States. It said defendants could be convicted if their victims “reasonably believed” that they were harassed or intimidated because of a characteristic such as race or sexual orientation. But last year, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the bias-intimidation law was unconstitutional. |
| The panel of judges concluded that the evidence that prosecutors presented to prove the bias-intimidation charges had “tainted the jury’s verdict on the remaining charges” and deprived Mr. Ravi of a fair trial. | The panel of judges concluded that the evidence that prosecutors presented to prove the bias-intimidation charges had “tainted the jury’s verdict on the remaining charges” and deprived Mr. Ravi of a fair trial. |
| The judges did not minimize their disapproval of what Mr. Ravi had done. | The judges did not minimize their disapproval of what Mr. Ravi had done. |
| “The social environment that transformed a private act of sexual intimacy into a grotesque voyeuristic spectacle must be unequivocally condemned in the strongest possible way,” the opinion said. “The fact that this occurred in a university dormitory, housing first-year college students, only exacerbates our collective sense of disbelief and disorientation,” it continued. “All of the young men and women who had any association with this tragedy must pause to reflect and assess whether this experience has cast an indelible moral shadow on their character.” | “The social environment that transformed a private act of sexual intimacy into a grotesque voyeuristic spectacle must be unequivocally condemned in the strongest possible way,” the opinion said. “The fact that this occurred in a university dormitory, housing first-year college students, only exacerbates our collective sense of disbelief and disorientation,” it continued. “All of the young men and women who had any association with this tragedy must pause to reflect and assess whether this experience has cast an indelible moral shadow on their character.” |
| Mr. Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in a county jail and he was released on good behavior after 20 days. |