Guy who filmed gay roomate with man, caused suicide, Found guilty

[Eri]

A US student who used a webcam to secretly film his room-mate in a gay encounter has been found guilty of a hate crime and invasion of privacy.

Former Rutgers University undergraduate Dharun Ravi, 20, shook his head as the verdict was returned at a court in the state of New Jersey.

His room-mate, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death from a bridge in 2010.

The case attracted national attention, including comment from President Obama, and prompted anti-bullying measures.

Ravi was found guilty of 15 counts as a whole, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, which is a hate crime.

He was found not guilty of several subparts of the bias intimidation charges.

While Ravi was not charged in connection with Clementi's death, which occurred shortly after the spying, the suicide was mentioned by witnesses during the trial.

He will be sentenced on 21 May and could face up to 10 years in jail and possible deportation to India - although he has lived in the US legally since he was a young boy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17406173

Maybe this will make some bullies (of all kinds) think twice about what they're doing, especially if it'll ruin their life.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Wait a second. No offence, but how can this man be held accountable for the suicide of this man? I don't exactly know the definition of a hate crime (which seems to be iffy anyway), and I understand that it was a gross "invasion of privacy", but I think the sentence is a bit too much. Then again, I have a warped "tit-for-tat" sense of justice which would force the perpetrator to be filmed kissing another man and then having it uploaded to the internet, just like he did to his victim.

And why would the perpetrator be deported to India? As the article says, he'd legally lived in the US since he was a child.

This won't make bullies think twice about what they're doing, because this shit happens all the damn time. The bullies don't care if they hurt you. Maybe some of them underestimate the damage and don't think the victim would actually kill themselves, but most of them still WANT to hurt you, because it makes them feel better.

And I'm -almost- tempted to blame Twitter for how widespread this video was.

 

[Lieju]

I don't know enough about this case to know how much it was a hate-crime, but this kind of cyber-bullying and invasion of privacy is wrong.

But unfortunately it seems a lot of kids don't understand that putting pictures in the net might not be okay.

This won't make bullies think twice about what they're doing, because this shit happens all the damn time. The bullies don't care if they hurt you. Maybe some of them underestimate the damage and don't think the victim would actually kill themselves, but most of them still WANT to hurt you, because it makes them feel better.

There are certain types of people that want to hurt their victim, true, but a lot of people who forward this kind of thing don't much think about what it means, have a laugh, show it to someone, and never really think it's that bad.

(And they might not even know or care about the origins of the video)

 

[speakstrg17]

Deported to India? WTF?
Even if that was a hate crime(I guess), he should not be responsible for his death nor deported to India

 

[Psykoma]

Wait a second. No offence, but how can this man be held accountable for the suicide of this man?

He isn't.

And why would the perpetrator be deported to India? As the article says, he'd legally lived in the US since he was a child.

Living legally in the U.S. doesn't mean he's a citizen of the U.S.
He's a citizen of India, and can be deported.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

I think we don't have enough information on this case to make a definitive judgement other than "this guy's a dick". Not trying to demean the impact of the act, but is that really all it was? Isn't bullying supposed to be PERSISTENT acts of intimidation to make the victim's life unpleasant? Of course, even though this isn't bullying, it still doesn't make it any less wrong.

Even if he IS a citizen of India, why should he be deported? I'm probably not knowledgeable enough in the justice system, but this punishment seems to be nothing to do with what he did. This is why I say the justice system needs to be revised from the ground up. Like my "tit-for-tat" sense of justice. If it makes me as bad as the perpetrator, then so be it. Too many bastards are allowed to literally get away with murder and sometimes even favoured (I heard that Amanda Knox is actually writing a book about that girl's death, and the family can't do shit about it because it's not as if -they're- going to make any money from it), while the victim(s) are ignored, sometimes even blamed themselves for the crime and are left to suffer in silence.

 

[DoPo]

Hey, I remember hearing about that case. So that was back in 2010...I thought it was from slightly before that 2008-2009. Anyway, it seems the guy was a dick, I don't feel bad for him.

 

[Phasmal]

I think we don't have enough information on this case to make a definitive judgement other than "this guy's a dick". Not trying to demean the impact of the act, but is that really all it was? Isn't bullying supposed to be PERSISTENT acts of intimidation to make the victim's life unpleasant? Of course, even though this isn't bullying, it still doesn't make it any less wrong.

The trial heard that Ravi had planned to "expose" Clementi's activity and that he acted purposefully and maliciously.
^ From the website, it also mentioned he'd filmed him more than once.

Honestly, this guy behaved disgustingly and I don't feel sorry for him at all.
Wish people would stop poking their noses into other people's lives just because they dont agree with who you wanna go out with.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

I think we don't have enough information on this case to make a definitive judgement other than "this guy's a dick". Not trying to demean the impact of the act, but is that really all it was? Isn't bullying supposed to be PERSISTENT acts of intimidation to make the victim's life unpleasant? Of course, even though this isn't bullying, it still doesn't make it any less wrong.

The trial heard that Ravi had planned to "expose" Clementi's activity and that he acted purposefully and maliciously.
^ From the website, it also mentioned he'd filmed him more than once.

Honestly, this guy behaved disgustingly and I don't feel sorry for him at all.
Wish people would stop poking their noses into other people's lives just because they dont agree with who you wanna go out with.

Ah, OK then. So it IS bullying if he'd filmed him on multiple occasions.

Whether or not it was homophobia, this guy was obviously unacceptable. But at least, if he goes to jail, everyone will know his name (unless he'll get a new identity or whatever, like with sex offenders, which I disagree with; why should the victims be exposed while the perpetrators get to hide away not having to feel the full consequences of their crimes every day?) and his life, including his university prospects, would effectively be destroyed.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Wait a second. No offence, but how can this man be held accountable for the suicide of this man?

He wasn't. Read the linked article.

Witnesses obviously mentioned it, but both legal teams were barred from speculating on the suicide at all. He was convicted of 15 separate crimes, none of which implied that he "caused" the suicide.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

On the topic of homosexuality, I just wanted to say something that might inject a bit of light humour into the whole thing.

Without homosexuality, without fluid and vibrant sexuality, without difference, the world would be helluva boring. Seriously, most people actually like multiculturalism and what it has done for various countries around the world. Many people seem to forget how much difference has done for them personally and society as a whole, and what's the alternative? That we're all just nameless, faceless robots who just follow a single, set path with no deviation from the core? What kind of meaningless life is that for humans? It's got even less meaning that what life currently has now!

Besides, without homosexuals, there'd be no Gok Wan, meaning that there'd be no "How to Look Good Naked". It's somewhat ironic that a gay man must be a godsend to MILF fans.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

A US student who used a webcam to secretly film his room-mate in a gay encounter has been found guilty of a hate crime and invasion of privacy.

Former Rutgers University undergraduate Dharun Ravi, 20, shook his head as the verdict was returned at a court in the state of New Jersey.

His room-mate, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death from a bridge in 2010.

The case attracted national attention, including comment from President Obama, and prompted anti-bullying measures.

Ravi was found guilty of 15 counts as a whole, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, which is a hate crime.

He was found not guilty of several subparts of the bias intimidation charges.

While Ravi was not charged in connection with Clementi's death, which occurred shortly after the spying, the suicide was mentioned by witnesses during the trial.

He will be sentenced on 21 May and could face up to 10 years in jail and possible deportation to India - although he has lived in the US legally since he was a young boy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17406173

Maybe this will make some bullies (of all kinds) think twice about what they're doing, especially if it'll ruin their life.

How the fuck do you cause one to commit suicide? Did Ravi put a gun to kids head and force him to jump off the bridge?

You can't force anyone to commit suicide, cause if you did IT WOULDN'T BE SUICIDE! For fucks sake.

And it's fucked up we're charging a man over a simple college prank gone wrong. Beware everyone, youre hijinks mean jail time if someone is the least bit over-sensitive.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Even if the guy didn't mean it, he shouldn't have done that in the first place. Though the punishment is a bit harsh...

 

[Damien Granz]

Wait a second. No offence, but how can this man be held accountable for the suicide of this man? I don't exactly know the definition of a hate crime (which seems to be iffy anyway), and I understand that it was a gross "invasion of privacy", but I think the sentence is a bit too much. Then again, I have a warped "tit-for-tat" sense of justice which would force the perpetrator to be filmed kissing another man and then having it uploaded to the internet, just like he did to his victim.

And why would the perpetrator be deported to India? As the article says, he'd legally lived in the US since he was a child.

This won't make bullies think twice about what they're doing, because this shit happens all the damn time. The bullies don't care if they hurt you. Maybe some of them underestimate the damage and don't think the victim would actually kill themselves, but most of them still WANT to hurt you, because it makes them feel better.

And I'm -almost- tempted to blame Twitter for how widespread this video was.

He's not held accountable for the suicide (and the post you're quoting even says he's not), otherwise some form of 'manslaughter' would be on his rap sheet. He's held accountable for "Gross invasion for privacy" and "Committing a crime based on hate motives", and motive has always been a thing that helps determine sentencing (that's why we have different 'degrees' of murder and manslaughter, even though they're all the same crime), which are both totally correct.

Also, I wouldn't blame Twitter any more than I'd blame air molecules for spreading lies that came out of somebody's mouth. Some of its users on the other hand..

I think we don't have enough information on this case to make a definitive judgement other than "this guy's a dick". Not trying to demean the impact of the act, but is that really all it was? Isn't bullying supposed to be PERSISTENT acts of intimidation to make the victim's life unpleasant? Of course, even though this isn't bullying, it still doesn't make it any less wrong.

The trial heard that Ravi had planned to "expose" Clementi's activity and that he acted purposefully and maliciously.
^ From the website, it also mentioned he'd filmed him more than once.

Honestly, this guy behaved disgustingly and I don't feel sorry for him at all.
Wish people would stop poking their noses into other people's lives just because they dont agree with who you wanna go out with.

Ah, OK then. So it IS bullying if he'd filmed him on multiple occasions.

Whether or not it was homophobia, this guy was obviously unacceptable. But at least, if he goes to jail, everyone will know his name (unless he'll get a new identity or whatever, like with sex offenders, which I disagree with; why should the victims be exposed while the perpetrators get to hide away not having to feel the full consequences of their crimes every day?) and his life, including his university prospects, would effectively be destroyed.

They get their name changed so that they actually can serve their proper sentence, and not the 'street justice' sentence people may want them to have. And also, after they pay their time to society, really it isn't fair to keep 'punishing' them further.

The thing too is that, after this guy serves his 10 years time, I don't think people should bully him either, nor do I call for street justice in this case either. Even if the human baser primal need for bashing an asshole's head with a rock rises up, that's not what our justice system is about.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Just heard about this on the radio. Nice to see there are consequences for driving someone to suicide.

 

[Damien Granz]

I think they should just let him walk free, give him some community service or something. I don't think it was a hate crime, he was just being an immature dick. He probably feels bad enough for what he's done.

For a 10 year sentence they're placing full blame on this Ravi, an effective manslaughter charge. They're saying he was fully responsible for bringing him to the point of suicide, he may have been the final straw but what kind of mental state would a person have to be in to kill himself over one incident like this? It was a life full of insecurity and low self-esteem that brought him to that point, not the one guy who ousted him as a homosexual.

It's like if a group beats Guy A to within an inch of his life, then Guy B comes and pokes him, Guy A dies and the courts find Guy B guilty for causing the death.

Which they will. Even if you weren't involved in the initial beating, if you came up to him and poked him with a stick until he expired, you can be found guilty of manslaughter or a lesser degree of murder, depending if the court rules you were either too dumb to call the police, or if you were maliciously trying to cause harm on a crime of opportunity.

The only chance Guy B has really is if he could prove that he was trying to fix him with his pokes, but that's CLEARLY not the case here.

That doesn't mean 'the group' would get off free of charge, assuming they were caught, but neither would Guy B.

But the thing is, he wasn't even charged in relation to the suicide. Seems he did enough other crimes to get his 10 years even without it.

 

[krazykidd]

Now question i want to know is . If he had secretly filmed someone having heterosexual sex , and said person commited suicide , would it be still considered a hate crime?

I just think i is a college prank gone wrong . Now i do believe he should face consequences for invasion of privacy , but anythin more than that is just silly .