NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – For more than two years, supporters of former University of Massachusetts student Jason Vassell have urged prosecutors to drop charges against him that stemmed from a racially charged fight and sparked protests, demonstrations and accusations of bias.
On Friday, prosecutors agreed to do just that, if Vassell serves the rest of his 2 1/2-year pretrial probation, which ends in August.
To Vassell’s supporters, the decision to end the case against Vassell is a clear victory.
“If you are a Black man in a dormitory and someone is yelling racial epithets at you … you just do what you think is right, and that’s what Jason did,” said Jasmin Torrejon, a member of Justice for Jason, a group of UMass students, professors and others who supported him.
The case sparked passionate rallies in support of the biology major from Boston and accusations of racism against prosecutors and police.
Prosecutors, while acknowledging that race was a factor in the fight between Vassell and the two White men he fought with, said race played no role in their decision to bring charges against Vassell.
“It did not play a part in this case,” Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunphy Farris said.
