>Reader Questions constitutionality of “Ravi” verdict
RE: “If the law does not require that the prosecution prove that the defendant has a guilty mind, or ‘black heart’, in that he intended to intimidate the victim, the law is an ass and should be revised or repealed.”
The law should be repealed regardless.
It is unconstitutional since it sets up a protected class of citizens making them more important than other citizens.
Had Tyler been a heterosexual and Ravi did the EXACT same thing, he would not be convicted of bias intimidation since he could not be charged with that crime since “NJSA 2C:16-1 – Bias Intimidation” only protects intimidation based on “race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity”
NJSA 2C:16-1, like all “hate crime” laws, is a bad law.
