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I believe Dharun Ravi is guilty. I think it's bad for them. [92], On May 30, 2012, Ravi waived his right to remain free during the appeals process and began his jail term at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center in North Brunswick, New Jersey on May 31, 2012. But enough. I'm very curious as to why the prosecutor is holding her responsible in any way, shape, or form simply because Mr. Ravi was using her computer. "[16] Clementi wrote in detail on the Just Us Boys[29] and Yahoo! The prosecutor rested its case today in the webcam spy trial of Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi. Sign up for the free newsletter to get your dose of Lassi! I felt uncomfortable and guilty of what happened. i didnt know martina is a TERF, damn thats sad and frustrating., these are the best knot tying instructions on the internet. Then you are punished for the accident of your birthplace. I dont need names. Like many of his neighbors KK fell into drugs and gangs while growing up on the hard-scrabble streets of a poor neighborhood in Long Beach, California. Five days after the verdict, Ravi said in an interview: "I'm not the same person I was two years ago. [16] Ravi has stated that he realized that his "joke" was "stupid", and pointed the webcam towards his own bed before the planned viewing on September 21. Its a disease. Follow her on twitter and instagram. The anger at Ravi is also easy and cathartic. window.dojoRequire(["mojo/signup-forms/Loader"], function(L) { L.start({"baseUrl":"mc.us2.list-manage.com","uuid":"19094dcdbabfb642bafc9b375","lid":"55d048fd69","uniqueMethods":true}) }), Lassi with Lavina is a dhaba-style offering of life and the arts through the prism of India. Rubin Sinins, Wei's attorney, said, "I'm unaware of any evidence of sexual contact. Ravi, a Plainsboro resident and 2010 High School North graduate, was convicted on 15 counts including hate crime, invasion of privacy, and tampering with evidence and a witness to try to cover up. University officials said Ravi never requested a room change, either. "It feels good. Home; Categories. [88] Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen criticized Ravi for "bullying (via webcam)", but argued that hate crime laws unfairly punish an individual for thought or speech, and therefore erode civil liberties. [41] A key aspect of the prosecution's evidence tampering charge was Ravi's deletion of two potentially incriminating postings: one on Twitter on September 19 in which he wrote that his roommate was "making out with a dude. Be careful it could get nasty. That story got dropped like it was hot. He faced immense scrutiny for his actions ever since September 2010; recently, he was found guilty and sent to jail. Yay", and one on September 21 in which he told his iChat followers "dare you to video chat me" during the time of Clementi's tryst. Im a law student in Canada, and we study a fair amount of cases from around the Commonwealth, but each time we read an American case it seems there are higher punitive damages in civil cases than would ever be awarded here, and longer jail sentences (often served consecutively rather than concurrently for offences where the elements are related). Ravi subsequently accepted a guilty plea deal from prosecutors, for one count of attempted invasion of privacy. As to the so-called 'apology,' it was, of course, no apology at all, but a public relations piece produced by Mr. Ravi's advisers only after Judge Berman scolded Mr. Ravi in open court for his. Arent we all part of the human race? "[7][68], On the afternoon of September 21, Ravi texted his friend Michelle Huang. No community is blemish free. "We'll never know what was in those letters," Altman said. Id like to mention, again, because this fact is often overlooked, that only maybe five people actually saw the video feed of Clementi and they saw it for about thirty seconds. With almost no media present - a far cry from the camera-packed courtrooms of his trial -- Ravi quietly answered the questions of Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone and Altman, acknowledging only that he tried to activate a computer on Sept. 21 to catch Clementi in a sexual act and had invited others to watch. Berman kept them out of the trial because Ravi wasn't charged in Clementi's death. Ravi made the news again two days ago, though, when his people released an apology to the media and he made the news again, today, but Ill get to that in a minute. M.B. Two of these students testified that Ravi also said he wanted to confirm that his roommate was gay. "[37] On October 4, 2010, Kaplan stated that he did not think there would be enough evidence to charge Ravi and Wei with a hate crime. "[98], Both the prosecutors[101] and Ravi[102] filed separate appeals. But it had nothing to do with Tyler Clementi, his former roommate who jumped off the George Washington Bridge. Wei responded "Omg dharun why didnt u talk to me first i told them everything". Berman gave Ravi a second chance to make good. Copyright 2009 - 2023 The Excitant Group, LLC. "It was the state's. had in his letter offered to write a letter to help Ravi avoid deportation. Riese is the 40-year-old Co-Founder and CEO of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in California. That's fantastic. If either of you, Leanne or Cassandra, remember the time when you or your friend, or your friends friend, or when you heard about someone that brought a 30 year old stranger into the dorm for sex and how that was handled, let me know. Twitter@lavinamelwani & @lassiwithlavina The messages were sent after Ravi had been visited that afternoon by the resident assistant and told of Clementi's complaint: "I want to explain what happened. Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student convicted of using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi, is scheduled to be released from jail on Tuesday morning. Thank you for this. In Dharun Ravi, the politicians and the media found a face to pin the bully tag on. This case, which began six years ago, is finally over. "[21][31] In the afternoon, the resident assistant confronted Ravi about Clementi's written complaint, in which he requested a room change. There is "no question", she said, that Clementi believed he was selected because of his sexual orientation, and some of Ravi's messages referring to gays might also be evidence of intent; she noted that, under the New Jersey bias intimidation law, the prosecution does not have to prove a biased intent, but only a reasonable belief by the victim that he was targeted because of sexual orientation. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [36], Soon after these charges were filed, there were calls from gay rights advocates and bloggers to include hate crimes charges against Ravi and Wei. As a juror in this case admitted, no one knows what actually went through Dharun Ravis mind when he spied on his roommate and tried to turn it into a peep-show for all his friends. On Rachels post last week about Ravis sentence,commenter Remich, who I believe is a law student or lawyer of some kind,presented an apt breakdownof why, when looking at the four principles that justify criminal punishment rehabilitation, deterrence,incapacitationand retribution Ravis appropriated jail time seems adequate. [97] Ravi declined the opportunity to speak at the sentencing hearing[98] and was reprimanded by Judge Berman for not having publicly apologized: "I heard this jury say guilty 288 times24 questions, 12 jurors, that's the multiplication. feels like an apology thats not really actually an apology at all. According to one student, the two men were turned so one could not see their faces. I live here in NJ. Although Clementi could not see Ravi's phone text messages, he saw his Twitter postings the next day. [80], Jack Levin, an authority on hate crimes, was skeptical of the case for bias intimidation, saying of Ravi that "it becomes difficult to determine whether the motivation was due to sexual orientation or some other conflicts between the roommates that have nothing to do with sexual orientation", although he also noted that the position of the camera had raised doubts about Ravi's contention that he was primarily concerned about protecting his possessions. Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter@StarLedgerand find us onFacebook. In these days & times? 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. [18][57] Wei said the scene was the same as that before, except that the men's shirts were off. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), as a bravo gay thank you for this!!! Its Ravis perceivedintent(as announced on twitter) that were pissed about, not what actually transpired. The fact that a Queerty commenter responded to Ravis non-apology with HE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE FULL TEN YEARS!!!!!! Thats the multiplication. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, Mark Di Ionno | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Ravi wrote: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Im not interested in his appeal, or his apology, or ever having to look at his stupid face again. Part of HuffPost Crime. Perhaps that is why, even now, Ravi cannot find the words to apologize. Aug. 2010 A week before the start of his freshman year at Rutgers, Dharun Ravi tries to find his future roommate online, according to the New Yorker. Ravi posted to his 150 Twitter followers, "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I cant understand why a court would allocate a custodial sentence in a scenario like this under Australian principles of sentencing its a chance for reflection, but the state paying for 30 days of gaol is immensely expensive. [87] The editorial board of the Newark newspaper, The Star-Ledger, criticized both the law and its application, arguing that Ravi's crime was not malicious, the law was unconstitutional, and the application of the law against Ravi was a "huge overreach". He did not speak in court then, not in his own defense nor to plead for mercy or even offer an apology to the family of Clementi. Their son ruined Ravis life. [62], According to M.B. [60][61] None of the students said that Ravi had expressed any animosity towards gays. Something just doesnt match up. It does not change my original sentiment. Supported by the Knight Foundation for Journalism, it brings stories from New York to New Delhi to readers globally. But they certainly contributed to what critics called a light 30-day jail term Berman imposed on Ravi after his conviction on the 15 counts in 2012, for which he faced up to 10 years in prison. Would the Indian-American community be so agitated? What do you think? It's been 3 1/2 years since he was convicted on 15 counts of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and evidence tampering for cyberspying on his roommate. Certainly the testimony in the trial didn't suggest otherwise. The part about spying was ruled hearsay and not admissible. We start off teaching our kindergartners to say thank you and sorry and to be nice to people. Yes, it's happening again. Good to know I wasnt alone in that! [11][93], Ravi was released from jail on June 19, 2012, after serving 20 days of his 30-day term, with 5 days of credit for good behavior and 5 days of work credits. I could imagine myself in both Ravi and Clementi's shoes. In cross-examination, he noted he remembered this only when it later became relevant. Yes, Ravi sent a text message to a friend after learning through social media that his new roommate was gay. While many were appalled at the slap-on-the-wrist sentence, the judge went out on a limb because he obviously believed that this was more a callous prank gone horribly wrong than a full-fledged hate crime for which the law was intended. The statute defining sexual contact refers to nudity and private parts, and, to my knowledge, nothing like that was seen. Since the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office appealed that sentence, the sentence does not have to start until the appeal is decided. The first were pieces of Clementi family correspondence ruled inadmissible by former Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman before the trial, which may have included a suicide note or other telling information about Clementi's mental state before his suicide. He refused them all because they required him to admit to bias intimidation. [63], Kate Zernike of The New York Times described M.B. "[34], "I've known you were gay and I have no problem with it. In conversations with Wei and later text messages with friends, Ravi expressed distrust of the stranger that Clementi brought into the room, describing him as "an older, shabbier-looking guy". Isnt a tragedy a tragedy and an injustice an injustice, no matter to whom it happens? He lost his gamble and now faces up to 10 years in prison and deportation. Reporters, bloggers and columnists across the US have weighed in on this and for once, the Indian-American community has had plenty to say. Surely it would be easier (and more helpful) to mandate community service? Is that because the perpetrator is Indian and his guilt is sullying the collective shining image of Indian-Americans? "There was no bullying," Altman emphasized. I just really wish that if people are going to make public apologies, they actually apologize rather than give us yet another non-apology apology, Nevertheless, I decided to accept and hopefully complete the sentence as soon as possible. At that time I had written that it's too easy to cry hate crime. Living and working in New York City, using the computer skills he has honed since he was a teenager. Ive written about how strange it is that what Ravi did to Clementi is done by college boys to college girls every day in this countryand nobody does anything about it, and how anybody whos been there probably isnt that shocked that Ravi saw his behavior as somehow acceptable or normal within the surprisingly primal environment of undergraduate co-habitation. [66] Ravi said that his messages were made in a joking manner and that he later turned off the webcam so that no viewing would occur. Mr. Ravi was given that opportunity but chose to say nothing. You are not alone. "[8] Louis Raveson, a professor of criminal and civil trial litigation at Rutgers School of Law-Newark, said that bias intimidation criteria had been met: "I think the statute correctly predicted this kind of crime and is being used appropriately. [89] In a New York Times op-ed piece, journalist Emily Bazelon argued that, while Ravi's invasion of Clementi's privacy "should be out of bounds on a college campus," the punishment he faced was disproportionate to that crime, and that hate crime laws were not intended for these types of actions. I just suspected you were shy about it which is why I never broached the topic. "[86], Glenn Berman, the judge who presided over Ravi's trial, said that the New Jersey statute was "muddled" and that he would have written it differently. Updates. But Dharun Ravi, it's not about you. Riese, your article is brilliant again! "If this kid ends up in jail on Monday my faith will be shaken in this country," said Sandeep Sharma, Ravi's father's business associate. [49], In August 2011, Ravi's defense attorney requested a mistrial because the prosecution had not presented evidence to the grand jury which, he argued, would have cleared Ravi, and had presented other evidence in what he said was a misleading manner. "[16], In an interview with investigators, Ravi said that on September 21 he had turned the webcam away from Clementi's bed. The question is not whether Dharun Ravi deserved 30 days in jail or more for that infamous webcam spying on his roommate. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. So much of the commentary surrounding Clementis death seems very reductive and hateful towards Ravi rather than mature discussion of the issues. What started this chain of events? Perhaps he could not deal with the reality of his actions after he lived his fantasy dream. I cant stop and buy a fucking cup of coffee without hearing someone talk about him, or how they feel about the case, the verdict, the *apology*. Ravi, 24, admitted to attempting to activate a web camera to capture Clementi's . In the end it doesnt matter whether his name is Dharun Ravi or John Smith. He then added, "Yeah keep the gays away. I won't ever get up there and tell the world I hated Tyler because he was gay, or tell the world I was trying to hurt or intimidate him because it's not true. Well said, Leena. [16][17][19], Clementi followed Ravi on Twitter. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } Whatever. Stella, Clementi doing that ruined Ravis life? Ive written here, in the past, about how blaming Ravi for Tyler Clementis suicide does us all a disservice, because it glosses over Clementis potential depression and social anxiety problemsand the myriad of other issues that led him to the bridge that night. A sincere apology is personal. I didn't act out of hate and I wasn't uncomfortable with Tyler being gay. . He was on trial for the invasion of his privacy. You've decided to leave a comment. Yes, kids hook up with other kids in college all the time. However, the thought of whether he was Indian or not dissipated as the news about 18-year-old Clementis suicide sank in, leaving me chilled. A public apology matters because it will show that this terrible tragedy actually carried a lesson for him, a lesson that has nothing to do with his grades, his social life or his weight. said his relationship with Clementi was a "good relationship", which included continual texting and online chats, and that Clementi was "happy" when he last saw him. If I took the plea, I would have had to testify that I did what I did to intimidate Tyler and that would be a lie. "[37], After the first morning of the defense presentation on March 9, 2012, trial attorney Brian Claypool viewed the overall defense strategy as effective, but he questioned defense techniques in trying to show that Ravi was not anti-gay. Maybe hes so fundamentally pissed about essentially being accused of murder and branded a homophobe for life that he cant seem to muster up any genuine remorse, or maybe hes just a dick who never gave a shit about Tyler and never will. [94], Ravi is a permanent resident of the United States who immigrated at age 6. Its the only way I can go on with my life. And again, untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide. One student said that Ravi had called Clementi "nice", and another said that Ravi had told him he had a gay friend. I recall the first time I heard it two years ago, driving, listening to the details of the Tyler Clementi suicide on the radio. He has been called out for his actions Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who writes for several international publications. But Dharun Ravi, it's not about you. In the following days, Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge. To protect his privacy as a possible crime victim, the judge ordered that media could show only his hands and could not record himcourtroom restrictions that were a "rare exception" according to The New York Times account. It's been 3 1/2 years since he was convicted on 15 counts of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and evidence tampering for cyberspying on his roommate Tyler Clementi. What a sense of rejection and despair must there be for a young man, hardly out of high school, to want to leave this bright, sunlit world and seek the abyss of endless water. Additionally, a survey indicates that one in five college students believe that their depression level is higher than it should be, yet only 6% say that they would seek help. I think the punishment doesnt seem to fit the crime a 10 year prison term or possible deportation sound just too harsh. ", and "Because I said we were just messing around with the camera." And did some stupid things. "[16] Later, Wei turned on the camera for another view with four others in the room, though Ravi was not there. The judge allowed some parts of Grover's official report of the incident: "Tyler is quite upset and feels uncomfortable. [21], At 6:39p.m., Ravi tweeted, "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. The character witnesses called, he said, were ineffective because the prosecution showed there was "no foundation" for them to say that Ravi was not anti-gay. Abraham also guessed that one defense argument would be that, when Ravi admitted to violating privacy in his statements to the police, he did not understand the legal meaning of "invasion of privacy" and made the statement under duress. I mean, we all realize that the bullieswho literally told Jamey Rodemeyer to kill himself got off scot-free, right? Children absorb these unspoken messages and often internalize them. Reporters, bloggers and columnists across the US have weighed in on this and for once, the Indian-American community has had plenty to say. [8][2] In regard to the planned viewing on September 21 and Ravi's encouragement of his Twitter followers to watch, the jury concluded that Ravi acted with the purpose to intimidate, with the knowledge that intimidation would occur, and with the result that Clementi was intimidated and reasonably believed that he was targeted because of sexual orientation. Or was this a clear bias crime and was Ravi a homophobe? He says he will submit to his jail sentence on Thursday. Though our community is one of the most accomplished in this country, I have to say Lavina, there are certain areas where we have not matured or evolved (and I have observed this in both 1st and 2nd generation Indian Americans) too much. What we do know, as testified, was that Tyler & MB had planned these meetings for sometime. [95][96], Judge Berman said that Ravi's "'letter of apology' to the pre-sentence people" was "unimpressive" and "didn't even mention the seven cover-up charges". Molly Wei, a key witness for the state's case against Dharun. [44] Clementi's parents "supported leniency for Wei", believing that her "actions, although unlawful, were substantially different in their nature and their extent than the actions of Tyler's former roommate" and that she "was forthcoming and cooperative during the investigation. " Ravi answered, "No that was a joke. It was not because his ethnicity was put on trial, that he became some kind of Exhibit A for an affluent but socially conservative immigrant community. 's testimony, he and Clementi met on a social network site and the September 19 meeting was the second of three dates. [51] The judge did not grant Ravi's motion. Lavina once again a great article. I saw him making out with a dude.