NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. —
A former Rutgers University student who used a webcam to spy on his gay roommate was sentenced Monday to just 30 days in jail — a punishment that disappointed some activists but came as a relief to others who feared he would be made a scapegoat for his fellow freshman’s suicide.
Dharun Ravi, 20, could have gotten 10 years behind bars for his part in a case that burst onto front pages when Tyler Clementi threw himself to his death off the George Washington Bridge.
Instead, Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman gave Ravi a month in jail, placed him on three years’ probation and ordered him to get counseling and pay $10,000 toward a program to help victims of hate crimes.
“Our society has every right to expect zero tolerance for intolerance,” the judge said.
Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said he will appeal the sentence, calling it insufficient.
The tear-filled sentencing touched on many of the issues that made the case heart-wrenching and legally complicated: anti-gay bullying, teen suicide, hate-crime laws in the fast-changing Internet age, and the uses and abuses of technology in the hands of young people.
Ravi did not speak in court but shed tears as his mother pleaded with the judge not to send him to prison. Afterward, Ravi, his family and his lawyers left court without comment. He is expected to appeal his conviction.
In handing down the sentence, the judge quoted an email from Clementi himself describing Ravi’s conduct as “wildly inappropriate.”
At the same time, Berman pointed out that Ravi was not charged in Clementi’s suicide. He said Ravi has spent 20 months in “exile” since his arrest. And he suggested “hate crime” is a misnomer for what Ravi was convicted of: “I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi.”
He also said he has examined the bias intimidation laws in 39 states and found that New Jersey’s is among the broadest. Most, he said, are used only to increase the sentences of people convicted of violent crimes.
The judge said he would recommend Ravi not be deported to his native India. Deportation is still a possibility, but a sentence of a year or more would have been more likely to trigger it.
Prosecutors had asked that Ravi be sent to prison; they did not say how much time he should get other than that it did not have to be the maximum.
World, nation, state
Related Photos
-
Dharun Ravi arrives at court for his sentencing hearing in New Brunswick, N.J., Monday, May 21, 2012. Ravi, a former Rutgers University student who used a webcam to watch his roommate kiss another man days before the roommate killed himself was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail. A judge also gave 20-year-old Dharun Ravi three years of probation. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Discussion
Ex-Rutgers student gets 30 days in jail
- World, nation, state
-
-
Power of Moore tornado dwarfs Hiroshima bomb
Wind, humidity and rainfall combined precisely to create the massive killer tornado in Moore, Okla. And when they did, the awesome amount of energy released over that city dwarfed the power of the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima.
-
Russian mice, gerbils dead in 30-day space ordeal; lizards live
A crew of Mongolian gerbils may have gone where no Mongolian gerbil has gone before, but they did not come back alive. A Russian spacecraft filled with mice, lizards and other animals has returned to Earth - but with the majority of its furred passengers apparently dead.
-
Jodi Arias asks jury to give her life in prison
Jodi Arias asked jurors Tuesday to give her life in prison, saying she “lacked perspective” when she told a local reporter in an interview that she preferred execution to spending the rest of her days in jail.
-
Cleveland kidnapping suspect’s 3 dogs go to foster care
Three dogs seized from a Cleveland man charged with holding three women captive over a decade have found a foster home.
-
Photos: Aftermath of massive tornado in Moore
Storm victims were pulled from the rubble and residents began surveying the damage late Monday and early Tuesday in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, where a powerful tornado destroyed entire neighborhoods and left dozens dead.
-
Crews race to find survivors of Oklahoma twister
Emergency crews searched the broken remnants of an Oklahoma City suburb Tuesday for survivors of a massive tornado that flattened homes and demolished an elementary school. At least 24 people were killed, including at least nine children, and those numbers were expected to climb.
-
Small company stock are a bright spot
Small-company stocks were a bright spot in a subdued start to the week for Wall Street.
-
Military sex abuse has long-term impact for vets
New government figures underscore the staggering long-term consequences of military sexual assaults: More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness linked to the abuse, and 4,000 sought disability benefits.
-
Medical examiner: 24 dead in Oklahoma twister
Emergency crews searched the broken remnants of an Oklahoma City suburb Tuesday for survivors of a massive tornado that flattened homes and demolished an elementary school. At least 24 people were killed, including at least seven children, and those numbers were expected to climb.
-
Rescue efforts ongoing as grim scene emerges after tornado
After darkness fell over this tornado-stricken city on Monday night and Tuesday morning, rescuers confronted a strange and grim tableau. Trees were wrapped with aluminum and downed powerlines ran over streams from broken water mains. In a city with so many ruined homes - and at least 51 dead after an enormous twister cranked through the southern Oklahoma City suburb - call after call for victims went without answer. “First responders! Do you need any help?” shouted one nurse who picked through a home without a roof and without a door.
- More World, nation, state Headlines
-
