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Aug 12, 2011
A former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate’s sexual encounter with another man wants his case dismissed because evidence of the teenager’s state of mind before he committed suicide wasn’t presented to the grand jury that indicted him.
Lawyers for former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi argued that prosecutors withheld evidence showing Ravi never bullied roommate Tyler Clementi. Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge days after his same-sex encounter was furtively captured on a webcam and transmitted through the Web.
Defense attorney Steven Altman asked prosecutors to turn over evidence that they said could clear Ravi, 19, of the hate crime accusations, and will ask a New Jersey court to dismiss the charges, according to the Star-Ledger. The newspaper reported that Altman is asking the prosecution for documents from Clementi’s computer and dorm room that could shed light on his state of mind around the time of his suicide.
Ravi was indicted on 15 counts in April.
