Dharun Ravi Found GUILTY in Death of Rutgers Roommate Tyler Clementi

Posted by Kevin Farrell on Mar 16, 2012 in U.S. | 26 comments

Dharun Ravi and Tyler Clementi

A New Jersey jury today found former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi guilty on all counts for spying on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, having a gay sexual encounter in 2010.

Ravi, 20, was convicted of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering, and hindering arrest, stemming from his role in activating a webcam to peek at Clementi’s date with a man on Sept. 19, 2010. Ravi was also accused of encouraging others to spy during a second date, on Sept. 21, 2010, and intimidating Clementi for being gay.

Ravi now faces ten years in prison followed by deportation to India, as the U.S. deports most criminal felons with international citizenship.

Ravi was found not guilty of several subcharges within the 15 counts of bias intimidation, attempted invasion of privacy, and attempted bias intimidation he stood accused of.

Ravi’s defense no infamously argued that the 20-year-old wasn’t anti-gay, but rather just an immature jerk. He’ll spend the next decade growing up – behind bars.

Such a tremendous waste of life, both Ravi’s and Tyler Clementi, the gay roommate Ravi drove to suicide with his cyber-harassment.

Are you satisfied with the jury’s decision?

http://www.facebook.com/admills9 Austin Igualdad Mills

I think this punishment is harsh. My views on this are very complicated, too complicated to be explained via this medium. Is this fella going to learn anything? Probably not. He’s just going to hate gay people all the more now for ruining ten years of his life. I don’t see the good in imprisoning him, and neither do I see the good of sending him back to India where homophobia is even worse than in this country. There the people will just support his actions. I can’t say what a more appropriate course of action or punishment would be, but I can say with conviction it is now what has been decided.

Stacy Phillips

what punishment? He hasn’t been sentenced yet…..The sentencing isn’t until May….He COULD face those punishments………but for all we know he could just get probation..

Anonymous

Good. As someone who is gay and Indian, I was mortified by what Dharun Ravi did. The fact that he’s going to be deported is music to me.
http://www.facebook.com/jeff.coulter1 Jeff Coulter

I’m satisfied with the verdict, sentancing is scheduled for May 21, and he will have to check in, in person, with the court every two until then. But I have to agree that two young lives have been wasted here. And none of this brings Tyler back. If there is any good here it is that it at least sets a legal precedent for this kind of behavior. Perhaps school systems will take the issue as more serious now.

Anonymous

He should have to pay for filming Tyler. For sure.

You know why I like drag Queens and Kings because they are who they are and they show it , they live it , they are brave. Suicide don’t impress me much. My brother took his life also and all I can do now is be Pissed at my brother. He was really loved, brilliant and handsome. So Tyler could have made something positive out of this, he was old enough to understand that “nothing stays the same”. Where were Tyler’s parents in all of this? How did they “really” feel about their gay son?

No punishment will ever bring Tyler back. Ravi will sit in jail for 10 years, justice? The only justice would be to bring Tyler back. They could give Ravi the death penalty and it does not change that Tyler is gone. Will this stop another story like this I doubt it, if a str8 man did this to a str8 couple would people feel the same?

http://twitter.com/BlueScorpioMoon Jennifer

First, I’m really sorry for the loss of your brother.

Of course punishment won’t bring Tyler back, no punishment ever un-does the crime, but the hope is the next time somebody thinks about violating the privacy of someone else in such a horrific way, this will change their mind.

I don’t think he would’ve done this to a straight couple, since his comments indicated clearly that it was because Tyler was with a man. He certainly wouldn’t have been motivated to spread it around to an entire campus, and if it had been done to a straight couple, it’s really unlikely one of the parties would’ve been so traumatized as to take their own life.

And finally, I don’t think suicide is supposed to “impress” you or anyone else. It’s not about you. It’s about pain so deep you see no way to crawl out of it and you feel you can never recover. It’s extremely sad that this young man was not able to find help and get through it. It’s not weakness, it’s desperation. I had a bottle of pills in my hand once, and a situation not nearly so traumatic as Tyler’s, and I got through it only because of a phone call with extremely fortunate timing. And yes, my life got better afterwards. And worse, and then better again. It’s very sad that Tyler wasn’t so fortunate as to have someone offer a hand at just the right moment, and even if someone had, it might not have been enough. I was lucky. Not everyone is.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Aaron-Anderson/1485012494 Aaron Anderson

you and me have a very similar story.. and I totally agree with you… my rescue came by a friend popping in to school one day and offering me a ride home and he stayed there until my parents came home from work… if he wouldn’t of been there at that time.. I’d probably be dead now.. and he never knew what was going on in my head that day..
Anonymous

From where I stand when you take your life you victimize yourself and those that care about you- . Taking your life is never the answer. I am glad someone helped you. I am always sad when I read about this kinda stuff. We all have wicked pain. It is part of life. Its not that we fall of the horse, its that we get back on and whip the horse back to order. Sorry PEATA. Please don’t think Im minimizing your experience at all. I’m just mad because my brother is gone Tyler is gone that 16 year old boy is gone and on and on….. Depressing…We have to teach the youth to be strong and proud of who ever they are…What we are is what we are and we cant change it, so tell the world to deal with it!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1051405761 Daryl Gardner

There is no stigma associated with straight couples, so your comparing apples to oranges. And this is not about bringing Tyler back, it’s about hopefully stopping things like this happening the NEXT time, so there ISN’T another Tyler.

Anonymous

@Stacy Phillips — I hope he just gets
probation. I can’t help but believe this kid is
being punished because his roommate committed suicide and happened to be gay, not because he
set up a webcam. It was a PRANK. We did stuff like that ALL the time when I was 18. I mean, if my gorgeous, straight college roommate had put a webcam on my bed, I would have seen OPPORTUNITY. (I realize I probably feel way differently about this case
than many other LGBTQI people — can’t help it; wired to think for myself, I guess.) Not to mention that I think it’s completely ridiculous that Dharun faces that much time in jail AND deportation, while the killer of Trayvon Martin walks free down in Florida. Wha?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1051405761 Daryl Gardner

@straypuma:disqus - Wow.. really? Egotistical much? ”Wired to think for yourself?” Cause I sure didn’t see any thinking in your response! First… Ravi isn’t a kid. Once you pass 18, your considered an adult. and are subject to adult consequences. Second, He’s being punished because he BROKE THE LAW…. But to elaborate on a few points:1) Tyler DIDN’T know he was being observed.. therefore.. it couldn’t have been “opportunity” as you say it.. and no reason to think that Tyler saw Ravi as “a gorgeous straight roommate” either…. 2) a “prank” is something harmless. Usually done to someone you know fairly well so you know how they will react. Tyler jumped.. because he felt it was preferable to dealing with what was done to him. I would hardly call that a ‘prank’.3) I can’t believe you are trying to seperate Ravi’s setting up a webcam and not only watching it the first time, but then INVITED OTHERS to view it the 2nd time.. and implying that there is no direct link between Tyler’s private life being completely exposed, the humiliation, the embarrassment, the probable taunting, the looks, and Tyler’s subsequent suicide!? Are you KIDDING ME!? Maybe you had a perfect childhood growing up, and never went through any of this type of thing, but a good majority of your peers HAVE.. There is an entire “It gets better” campaign to show that others suffer.. The fact you seem incapable of empathizing makes me feel bad for you.
and finally.
4) I agree with you on Trayvon. It’s ridiculous.. and I’ve posted on that.
http://twitter.com/BlueScorpioMoon Jennifer

Straypuma, if your gorgeous roommate put a webcam on your bed and you saw an opportunity, that would mean that you KNEW about the webcam and were consenting to being viewed. Mr. Clementi was not given that choice.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessica-Rose/729115532 Jessica Rose

this wasn’t a funny hah hah prank, this was malicious. How can you say that this was a hate crime?
http://twitter.com/BlueScorpioMoon Jennifer

His actions were not a prank. They were motivated by his bias and led to the death of another person. This is adult bullying. Would he have done the same if his roommate were a straight guy having sex with a woman? Probably not. His actions, and his behavior surrounding it, were not about immaturity but homophobia. We’ll see what happens with sentencing; it might be minimal, but the court has a chance to make a statement here, and I hope they do.
Anonymous

India men have only 4 inches of dick.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=853214878 Raymond Weaver

Not having been on the jury and privy to the information it had, I can’t say whether JUSTICE was done. I do think, however, two lives have been wasted.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000361933961 Mike Trujillo

I don’t like this sentencing at all…It was ultimately Clemnti’s decision- though I understand he must have felt such a wide range of emotions at the time. I do not believe Ravi or anyone should be sentenced up to 10 years for setting up a webcam. Yes, he was wrong in doing so- but people make stupid decisions. Clementi made a rash choice in taking in his own life, tragic, because really things would have turned out ok, but in his mind he saw everything coming to an end. In the end, clementi pulled the trigger, and not Ravi. As terrible as that sounds.
http://www.facebook.com/bjs51490 Blake Sigmon

It is an absolute waste of life with both parties, but at least Tylers parents can have some closure now that they know persons possibly responsible for causing their sons death is held accountable for his actions.I have put up with bully’s like that all my life and it can be very painful to deal with, and i myself had I am 20 years old myself and in the closet, so i know that if someone had exposed something like that to the entire community of people that knew me, i would feel as if i was not going to be able to go another day. It is something I would get past and struggle my way threw everyday, and it makes me cry to think that Tyler felt as if it was all over, that he couldn’t struggle his way threw this to get to better times. The tragedy is that there are and have been many others to go threw this sort of bullying. It will not stop until gays are recognized as equals, as its easier for gays to fit in when we are recognized as equals, and not criticized for being who we are. I am a firm believer in equality, such as it used to be with black people it has gotten allot better since early and mid 1900s to now, so i find it rational to believe that hopefully before i die, gays will be as equal and uncriticized as anyone else in this world and we wont have to hear story’s like Tyler Clementi.
http://twitter.com/matt_re Matt Re

Here’ what I never understood about this case: hate crime or not, Mr. Ravi’s actions led to the death of Tyler Clementi. Why the DA didn’t charge Ravi similarly to when a drunk driver gets behind the wheel and then kills someone is beyond me. Drunk drivers do not intend to kill their victim, much like Ravi claims he never intended for Clementi to kill himself. I am satisfied with verdict, but upset at the DA for never charging Ravi for something like involuntary manslaughter.
http://profile.yahoo.com/LALXPEIV67K4G2LXNXJFMQM734 Aurastar

Good!
Anonymous

Yes, I am satisfied. Ravi was indeed an immature jerk, an anti-gay one whose motive was hate. I am so sorry that his hatred has so twisted the lives of Tyler and his family. It’s twisted the Ravi family’s life also, of course, but oh! Tyler! What a horror to have had those feelings, to have ended his life. It gets better, it gets better, it gets better, and the increasingly strong LGBT support contingent is helping. We will win this struggle against bigotry and hate. We will.
http://www.crotchzine.com/ Ben

Justice has finally been done. Unfortunately, Tyler isn’t alive to see it. RIP Tyler
Kevin Webb

I hope he gets much less than 10 years. Spying on his roomie was wrong and vile. But he isn’t to blame for the suicide death. Ravi is immature, but he has the potential to live his life.

Maybe he just gets deported.
http://www.facebook.com/dhtroy Troy Morgan

Yes… I am satisfied with the verdict. Ravis life is ruined just as he played his part in ruining Tylers life. But I any so saddened that it all came down to this.
http://profile.yahoo.com/4YSSXW3P4BAGMOPDTOIKTYTQDE Terance H

What about when the govt does this type of action to intimidate or destroy people? When they act to conceal the corruption and abuse of power in the county judiciary? 6 years of hell… and the complete destruction of my life.
Jed

I just want to ask how is that enough? This man has been let off with a slap on the wrist, charges of invasion of privacy are not good enough! This man caused the death of an innocent human being and should be convicted as such! He should be convicted for man slaughter or worse murder, because after all, it is what he has done!

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Dharun Ravi Found GUILTY in Death of Rutgers Roommate Tyler Clementi

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