Ex-Clementi Roomate’s Conviction Overturned

A New Jersey appeals court on Friday overturned the conviction of Dharun Ravi on counts of bias intimidation in connection with the suicide of his former roommate, Tyler Clementi. Clementi, who was gay, jumped off of the George Washington Bridge in 2010 after learning that Ravi was spying on his sexual encounters with other men. After a change in state law, Ravi will face a new trial on more counts of invasion of privacy and tampering with evidence. The legal opinion rendered by the court did not mince words in blasting Ravi. “The fact that this occurred in a university dormitory, housing first-year college students, only exacerbates our collective sense of disbelief and disorientation,” the opinion stated. “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.”