Home » » Dharun Ravi sentenced to jail in Rutgers webcam case

Dharun Ravi sentenced to jail in Rutgers webcam case

Dharun Ravi arrives at court for his sentencing hearing in New Brunswick, N.J. (Mel Evans / Associated Press / May 21, 2012)

A judge Monday sentenced a former Rutgers University student, Dharun Ravi, to 30 days in jail for spying on his gay roommate who later committed suicide, rejecting defense arguments that he did not deserve time behind bars but disappointing prosecutors who portrayed him as insensitive and driven by anti-gay bias.

Ravi, who is now 20, had faced 10 years in prison after being convicted last March of invasion of privacy, witness tampering, tampering of evidence, and the hate crime of bias intimidation. He was also sentenced to 300 hours of community service.

The jury had concluded that Ravi had targeted his roommate, Tyler Clementi, because Clementi was gay, and the bias-crime status virtually guaranteed he would get some prison time.

Clementi, 18, threw himself from the George Washington Bridge in September 2010, shortly after learning that Ravi had secretly videotaped him in their room with a male date.

While Ravi never was accused of causing Clementi’s death, the circumstances sparked a national debate on bullying and other pressures facing gay youths. During the trial, prosecutors sought to portray Ravi as a homophobic, self-satisfied college freshman who took pleasure in humiliating his shy, sensitive roommate.

Judge Glenn Berman addressed Ravi before announcing his sentence, saying: “Nothing I say is intended in any way to disparage you or demean you. I don’t even know you.”

“But I heard this jury say ‘guilty’ 288 times -- 24 questions, 12 jurors -- that's the multiplication. And I haven’t heard you apologize once,” he said as Ravi sat silently, his chin often resting on his fist. “You cannot expunge the conduct or the pain you caused.”

He noted that Ravi has no prior record and that it was unlikely he would commit another offense. He also said he did not think Ravi was anti-gay.

“I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi … but I do believe he acted out of colossal insensitivity,” Berman said. Ravi’s mother sobbed in the courtroom as the sentence was read, and Clementi’s parents sat quietly.

Ravi, sitting in a dark suit and tie, sat quietly with his eyes downcast, as he had throughout the morning as Clementi’s parents, brother, and prosecutors appealed for prison time, rejecting arguments that as a first-time offender, Ravi should be spared incarcerations.

“All of the defendant's actions … were planned, were purposeful, and were malicious,” prosecutor Julia McClure said, describing Ravi as an arrogant attention-seeker and dismissing the defense claim that Ravi meant no harm when he secretly filmed Clementi. It “defies logic and common sense,” she said.

“The jury’s verdict gave some measure of justice … but justice can only be fully realized by respecting and enforcing the law and punishing this defendant for his conduct, his criminal acts,” she said.

Defense attorney Steve Altman read a statement to Berman after Clementi’s mother, father, brother and a man secretly filmed with Clementi demanded prison time for Ravi.

Altman said he had come before the packed courtroom with an anxiety “1,000-fold more than what I’ve ever experienced before” because he knew he needed to persuade Berman to keep Ravi out of jail. “I know that’s climbing a mountain,” he said, but he repeated his argument that the case had been overshadowed by Clementi’s suicide even though Ravi was not charged in his death.

“This isn’t about a simple invasion of privacy,” he said. “This case is being tried and it’s being treated and exists today as if it’s a murder case.” Even the victim impact statements “are replete with suggestions … that Dharun has some responsibility, some role in that terrible, terrible choice of Tyler’s.”

As he spoke, Ravi, dressed in a dark suit, sat quietly, his eyes downcast. Those in the packed courtroom included more than a dozen family members, including his father, Ravi Pazhani, who said his son had been “dragged through the mud” and demonized for Clementi’s suicide even though he said he had no part in it. “Dharun is punished for what happened after the incident,” he said, referring to Clementi’s death.

Pazhani described his son as a “passive child” and said it was impossible that he could have become the arrogant bully that prosecutors portrayed during his first year in Rutgers. “We are not a homophobic family. Dharun was not raised to hate gays,” said Pazhani, who also alluded to his family’s Indian heritage.

“As an American, I may look different, have a different skin color, may speak differently from most,” he said in heavily accented English. “But believe me, I am a parent first.” Pazhani then went on to pay tribute to Tyler Clementi, referring to his talents as a violinist and lamenting his early death.

“Rest in peace, Tyler, you will always be in our thoughts and prayers,” he said before appealing to Berman to spare his son jail time.

Ravi, who had been stoic through the various statements, broke down in tears when his mother, Sabitha Ravi, then took a seat beside him at the defense table and described between sobs how the case had devastated the family and how she felt her son had been wrongly characterized.

“Dharun’s dreams are shattered and he has been living in hell for the past 20 months,” she cried.


source :  http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-dharun-ravi-sentenced-20120521,0,4642695.story

Written by : Rinda Marestiani - Blogger

Assalamualaikum im Rinda. of Rinda Marestiani. Asli Blitar Jawa timur,,, '94 Generation. Memiliki Ibu yang luar biasa bernama Sudarwati dan Bapak super hebat bernama Suroso. Nah pada tanggal 15 Agustus 2014, tepatnya jika menurut kalender islam pas bulan syawal, di peristri sama lelaki hebat keturunan Madiun Sumbawa yang bernama Candra Aditya. Kesibukan saat ini full time be a lovely wife, learn blog, and 24 jam nemeni suami kerja. Thanks

Join Me On: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus :: Thank you for visiting ! ::

4 comments:

  1. ingin wujudkan impian anda , raih kesempatan dan menangkan ratusan juta rupiah hanya di ionqq,silakan invite
    pin bb#58ab14f5

    ReplyDelete
  2. ayo bergabung diajoqq , silakan coba keberuntungan anda disini dan menangkan ratusan juta rupiah,hadiah menantikan
    anda silakan bergabung invite pin bb#58cd292c

    ReplyDelete
  3. AYO GABUNG BERSAMA KAMI DI BOLAVITA UNTUK MENDAPATKAN BONUS UANG TUNAI SEKARANG...
    JANGAN MENUNDA LAGI UNTUK MENDAPATKAN BONUS DARI KAMI..

    www. sabungayam. pro
    www. sabungonline. org
    www. ayamsabungonline. com
    www. sabung-online. com
    www. sabung-online. net
    www. sabung-online. org
    www. onlinesabungayam. net

    HANYA ADA DI BOLAVITA

    Info Lengkap Hubungi:
    WA : 081377055002
    Line : cs_bolavita
    BBM: D8C363CA (NEW)

    TERIMA KASIH ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  4. AJO_QQ poker
    kami dari agen poker terpercaya dan terbaik di tahun ini
    Deposit dan Withdraw hanya 15.000 anda sudah dapat bermain
    di sini kami menyediakan 7 permainan dalam 1 aplikasi
    - play aduQ
    - bandar poker
    - play bandarQ
    - capsa sunsun
    - play domino
    - play poker
    - sakong
    di sini tempat nya Player Vs Player ( 100% No Robot) Anda Menang berapapun Kami
    Bayar tanpa Maksimal Withdraw dan Tidak ada batas maksimal
    withdraw dalam 1 hari.Bisa bermain di Android dan IOS,Sistem pembagian Kartu
    menggunakan teknologi yang mutakhir dengan sistem Random
    Permanent (acak) | pin bb : 58cd292c "

    ReplyDelete