Groups: Prosecute Rutgers case as hate crime
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:59 pm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39445225/ns ... ?GT1=43001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Some gay rights groups are urging that New Jersey's hate crime law be used in the case of the Rutgers student who committed suicide after an intimate encounter with another student was shown on the Internet.
The state's hate crime law is among the strictest in the nation, and it works as most of them do. It's not an offense charged on its own. Instead, it's invoked at sentencing to seek a harsher penalty. The criminal charges filed so far in the case — invasion of privacy — would qualify for a hate crime enhancement, say legal experts in the state.
Technolog: Internet was help — and hell — for Rutgers freshman
According to the Middlesex County prosecutor, New Jersey's invasion of privacy statutes make it a crime "to collect or view images depicting nudity or sexual contact involving another individual without that person's consent." It's a separate crime to transmit or distribute those images. The penalty can include a prison term of up to five years.
If the hate crime enhancement were applied, it would raise the maximum penalty to 10 years.
Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped off New York City's George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River last week. His body was identified on Thursday after being found in the river a day before.
Most popular Updated 74 minutes ago Outrage on campus after sex-video suicide
America’s ‘cheapest family’: ‘We are hope and change’
Survey: Atheists most knowledgeable about religion
Did secret webcam lead to student’s suicide?
Gay rights groups say Rutgers suicide a hate crime
..Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei, both 18, have been charged with invading Clementi's privacy. Prosecutors say that they used a webcam to surreptitiously transmit a live image of Clementi having sex Sept. 19 and that Ravi tried to webcast a second encounter on Sept. 21, the day before Clementi's suicide.
Some gay rights groups are urging that New Jersey's hate crime law be used in the case of the Rutgers student who committed suicide after an intimate encounter with another student was shown on the Internet.
The state's hate crime law is among the strictest in the nation, and it works as most of them do. It's not an offense charged on its own. Instead, it's invoked at sentencing to seek a harsher penalty. The criminal charges filed so far in the case — invasion of privacy — would qualify for a hate crime enhancement, say legal experts in the state.
Technolog: Internet was help — and hell — for Rutgers freshman
According to the Middlesex County prosecutor, New Jersey's invasion of privacy statutes make it a crime "to collect or view images depicting nudity or sexual contact involving another individual without that person's consent." It's a separate crime to transmit or distribute those images. The penalty can include a prison term of up to five years.
If the hate crime enhancement were applied, it would raise the maximum penalty to 10 years.
Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped off New York City's George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River last week. His body was identified on Thursday after being found in the river a day before.
Most popular Updated 74 minutes ago Outrage on campus after sex-video suicide
America’s ‘cheapest family’: ‘We are hope and change’
Survey: Atheists most knowledgeable about religion
Did secret webcam lead to student’s suicide?
Gay rights groups say Rutgers suicide a hate crime
..Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei, both 18, have been charged with invading Clementi's privacy. Prosecutors say that they used a webcam to surreptitiously transmit a live image of Clementi having sex Sept. 19 and that Ravi tried to webcast a second encounter on Sept. 21, the day before Clementi's suicide.
