By Ian T. Shearn
The verdict in the State of New Jersey v. Dharun Ravi has been rendered. Beholden to America’s short attention span, often preferring the presumption of guilt, reporters and advocates now sprint to the next story, the next cause, the next simplistic scandal.
But each story leaves a legacy, always more complex than we initially imagined, and now we must ask in the case of Dharun Ravi and Tyler Clementi how and if justice was served. . . .
. . . This particular path to justice began in 2001, when New Jersey lawmakers amended the state’s hate crimes statute to, among other things, include sexual preference.
And here we find the chain’s weakest link.
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More Tyler Clementi trial analysis by Shearn:
Rutgers Trial: The Political Firestorm Before the Indictment
The Elephant in the Clementi Trial