A New Jersey appeals court on Friday threw out the conviction of a former Rutgers University student who used a webcam to record his roommate kissing another man, leading the roommate to commit suicide.
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It was unclear Friday whether Ravi would face a new trial on the remaining charges of invasion of privacy, tampering with evidence, and hindering apprehension.
Dharun Ravi was convicted in 2012 on 15 charges, including several bias intimidation counts, after he allegedly led a group of students to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi in 2010.
After Ravi’s conviction in 2012, the state Supreme Court in a separate case struck down part of the state’s bias crime statute that focused on the victim’s state of mind.
The court called for a new trial, but prosecutors can also appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. He ended up serving just 20, because he received a 10-day credit for good behavior. The judges wrote they’d overturned Ravi’s conviction because evidence prosecutors had presented the jury tainted their “verdict on the remaining charges, depriving defendant of his constitutional right to a fair trial”, the Associated Press reported.
The appellate court, however, noted that “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”.
They added: ‘The fact that this occurred in a university dormitory, housing first-year college students, only exacerbates our collective sense of disbelief and disorientation.
Clementi killed himself soon after, jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Tyler Clementi’s parents, who formed a foundation that addresses bullying and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, didn’t immediately respond to an email.
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“Joe and I are not legal experts so we can not interpret the law”, the statement continued.
The appellate court said the prosecution conceded in its oral arguments four of Ravi’s bias convictions should “be void as a matter of law”, and, accordingly, dismissed those charges with prejudice.
The appeals court has remanded the case for a new trial in Superior Court. “His life was forever affected, and the lives of those who knew and loved him have been forever changed”, the statement said.
‘In light of today’s decision, we will do what we encourage all people to do before they push that send button, and that is to pause and consider the implications of their message.
‘Our world moves very fast which pushes us to be impulsively spontaneous and sometimes harsh’.
Mr. Ravi served 30 days at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center, three years’ probation, community service and paid a $10,000 fine.
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Ravi’s attorney, Steven Altman, told nj.com that this fight is far from over, but he is extraordinarily pleased with the decision.
