A jury in New Brunswick, New Jersey found former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi guilty of charges including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation in connection with Ravi’s roommate Tyler Clementi. Closing arguments concluded on Tuesday for the trial, which included the testimony of thirty witnesses and lasted over three weeks.

Ravi’s actions came to light in September 2010, after his then-roommate at Rutgers, Mr. Clementi, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. The jury studied Ravi’s motives for making a webcam recording of Clementi’s sexual encounter with an older man, which he shared with a friend and posted about on Twitter. Defense attorney Steven Altman asked jurors “If there’s hate in Dharun’s heart, if there’s ugliness in Dharun’s heart, where’s there some information and some evidence to support it?” The Defense hoped to show that there was no evidence of Clementi’s being intimidated by Ravi, or of Ravi being homophobic.

During deliberations, the jury asked Judge Glenn Berman to define the terms “intimidation” and “purpose” as they related to the bias intimidation count. Judge Berman said during court proceedings that the bias intimidation law was largely untested. “A person is guilty of the crime of bias intimidation,” Judge Berman said, “if he commits an offense with the purpose to intimidate an individual because of sexual orientation.” Ravi was found guilty of this charge, a hate crime, but was not charged in connection with the death of Clementi.

The case has received international attention and has inspired responses by both the State of New Jersey and Rutgers University, where Ravi and Clementi were students. New Jersey enacted the nation’s toughest law against bullying and harassment in January 2011, and Rutgers University announced a plan to introduce gender-neutral housing through co-ed dorms for gay, lesbian, and transgender students. They also implemented new staff training related to suicide awareness. Some argue that responsive actions like these are a better way to put the case in perspective than to send Ravi to prison for up to ten years. Ravi is likely to receive a reduced sentence because he is a first-time offender; however, as a citizen of India, he faces possible deportation.

This case should perhaps not be held up as an example of the severity of punishment for crimes related to ambiguous terms like “bias” and “hatred,” but rather as an incentive for generating awareness about sexual orientation and roommate issues in college. Long-time gay activist William Dobbs, in an interview with Rediff.com, said “Clementi’s suicide remains a riddle and haunts the case; Ravi is not charged with the death. If Clementi were alive, it is hard to imagine this incident would have received so much attention by the criminal justice system.”