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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
I guess I'd be more satisfied with a sentence that allows every person he meets for the rest of his life to kick him in nuts or spit in his face, but law doesn't work like that.
Rest In Peace, Tyler
Just saying ...
If, in lieu of any other sentence, the judge had said, "I sentence you to become a touchstone in the bullying crisis, your life and actions subjected to the most minute examination by the press and public opinion, and your name and image to be linked forever with this case, for your employers, relatives, and friends alike, without possibility of appeal"
--if it was within the judge's power to mandate that or to prevent it, and he decided to mandate it and no other sentence, would that be too much or too little?
I'm actually curious, because personally I think the judge probably had 'this kid is already turbofucked, forever' on his mind when he said '30 days.' If this had happened with no publicity I would quickly agree that 30 days is nothing, but at this point I'm not sure there's much difference between being in jail for 30 days and around 2 years if this is what google's going to say about you forever.
and yes, he definitely got sentenced to "Everyone and google will remember you as a hater, forever" in addition to the 30 days, community service, fine, and probation.
It does sound too light, but a month in prison isn't exactly a vacation, and he'll live his life with a criminal record.
He wasn't just an asshole; he violated Tyler Clementi's privacy. What if he had done that to a female student for his own sexual gratification? At a minimum, he should have gotten the same punishment for that type of crime.
If he were imprisoned for a year, I suspect he'd emerge afterwards even more hateful towards gays. Right now he's just a dumb, ignorant fuck. Sitting in prison for a year stewing in it? He'd come out as a genuine bigot and hater.
The sentence was just right, in my opinion. Short enough to quell resentment, long enough to let him know this is real.
What I really want to know is this: Parents are supposed to be responsible for their child's care and welfare until at least age 18. Why are they not arrested and prosecuted when they kick their own child out into the streets before age 18, when the kid comes out? These kids should be allowed to go to the cops, have their parents arrested, and prosecuted for child endangerment. And the parents should be turned over to CPS, and made to pay for decent foster care for their child. When will this happen?
A year in prison would have been the right sentence.
Especially after being made someone's bitch.
Maybe a slap on the wrist will make it go limp?
And I can guaran-fucking-tee that this kid is never going to pull anything like this again, after the terror of being convicted of all 15 counts.
Although he did a horrible thing when he violated his roommates privacy, he didn't kill or cause Tyler's choice to commit suicide, that was a personal choice he made. It is a massive insult to his memory to blame someone else for his suicide, because we all decide what it is we will do with our lives, and he chose to end his, and blaming another for his choice is disrespectful of Tyler's right to do with his life what he felt necessary. I refuse to second guess his choice to die.
Only he knew his pain, and only he made that choice. I think he was probably suffering for a long time, and pain and suffering often comes in multiple forms. I don't believe that this incident was the only thing that was on his mind, but rather, it was simply the last thing in a serious or even lifetime of painful memories that he could no longer carry. I wish he were here, but I won't presume to know his pain, and I honor his memory and assume he knew what was best for him.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/…
He didn't bully him to death. He committed one act, which broke the camel's back. We've been over this.
Putting tripe and nonsense into words does not make it any less tripe and nonsense. The sentence is NOT a statement on the value of anyone's life. The sentence is a statement on the severity of the crime committed... not on the consequences of the crime committed. Particularly when we cannot know whether a person's suicide was caused by one thing or by an amalgamation of things. If it turned out that Tyler jumped because of many different things, of which Ravi's invasion of his privacy and subsequent outing of him was only one, would it make Ravi's actions any less shitty? Or what if Tyler hadn't jumped at all, but had brought these charges himself? Would Ravi be less worthy of prosecution?
It seems Dharun Ravi was young, dumb, and an asshole with no respect for privacy. But the only part of that which could be tackled under law is the respect for privacy part.
Incidentally, the sentence was not 30 days:
"As well as the jail term, Ravi is to serve a three-year period of probation and complete 300 hours of community service.
He must also pay $10,000 (£6,330) to a state-licensed community organisation that helps victims of bias crimes, and complete a programme on cyber-bullying and alternative lifestyles."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canad…
Not to mention all the publicity he's received... his entire life will be undoubtedly shit from now on - incarcerated or not.
Btw, how is Tyler doing? Oh yeah, he is fucking dead because of this asshole. And the value of a gay kid's life to our society is apparently a couple days in jail. Basically what the judge is saying is that a 2nd time DUI is worse than spying and mocking a gay kid to such a severity that he goes out and kills himself.
Our society doesn't benefit from keeping this asshole in prison for 10 years. 1 or 2 years would have been fine. But 30 days is laughable. Well, not laughable--it makes me want to cry instead.
So it wasn't just one crime where he bullied and broadcast private moments over the internet and invited others to watch. He also tried to cover it up and convince others to cover it up. These are serious crimes - on their own - which should have resulted in jail time.
Given the extreme likelihood that Ravi will never do something like this again, and the fact that he'll probably never realize the future once laid out for him, I'm satisfied with his sentence.
As it stands now, when kids get kicked out of their home for any reason, the default is to send them back to that home if the cops find them out on the street. For that reason, kids from abusive/bigoted homes do everything they can to avoid getting picked up by the cops or CPS.
And I don't see arresting or fining bigoted parents as any solution. That'll just mean they'll let their kids continue to stay in their homes, but who's to say they won't just lock their gay kids in the basement and throw away the key?
and 32...i see your point. i'm willing to even waffle a bit...but that was a pretty big straw. more like a ton of bricks.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/20…
Bottom line: In an effort to avoid an excessive sentence, the judge went too far towards leniency.
It's lenient + fine + probation + Community Service + all the Evil associated with a felony criminal record.
It's still lenient + a Google Problem worse than what we inflicted upon that poor sheet-stain by tying it irrevocably to that awful Senator.
But "far, far too lenient"?
Gotta say, no.
I think it falls within just and appropriate parameters for the sentencing of a teenage first-time non-violent offender.
As criminally assholic as Ravi's actions were, he didn't actually deliberately inflict real physical harm upon Tyler Clemente.
I don't think that anybody whose first crime involves inflicting purely non-physical harm upon only one person should ever need to serve more than six months, and the offender's youth should be a real factor in any sentence.
Prison should be for violent offenders.
I definitely hear you.
I kind of wish there were some way for bigoted, asshole parents to hand over their gay kids to foster care without any financial penalty, or at least a meager one. Those kids would be better off in foster care than living on the street or with people who hate them. One of my best friends in high school was abandoned by his family, but was thankfully taken in by an awesome gay couple.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_p…
He wasn't being railroaded. The prosecutors simply wanted him to admit that what he did was wrong. He can't bring himself to do that. Failure to show remorse should amplify the sentence beyond the bare minimum required.
BUT...very disappointing to hear the kid's un-repentant afterwords; they show the same callous disregard for other people's feelings that allowed this incident to happen in the first place. But some folks are just made that way- look at the current Rethug contender for POTUS- zero compassion or empathy for other living beings.
Sad all around, and no amount (or lack of) jail time will bring Tyler back, or restore this young man's life. Stupid, stupid and more stupid.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05…
Taking a break from your site. Awfully disappointed in you.
Also others have pointed out that Ravi was in trouble for doing like tampering evidence, he was never charged for the suicide and I don't know why you keep acting like he was.
But what I wonder is...why is he appealing? I first thought it was odd he didn't take the plea bargain. Which I guess he did because he didn't want to be convicted. But he was. And this sentence is so light...why fight it? Just do the time, pay the fine, and five years very few will even remember who he was. But all these appeals will keep his name around for much longer.
He was going to wait till they'd had sex 100 times before getting to know each other better. It's obvious this man was cheating on his partner with Tyler. And Tyler was being used for cheap sex. Since Tyler had no real experience with relationships who is to say it was not that which led to his suicide?
As for community service...I think it should be working for the local branch of PFLAG. Let him hear first-hand about kids just like Tyler and see if he's a bit more remorseful then.
What Ravi did was a silly college prank. The truth is no video or pictures were ever published on the internet. I'd be a little miffed too if barely a few weeks into the school year my roommate had requested my absence twice so he could hook up with an older stranger in our shared room.
Too many gay activists (excluding Dan) tried to make this case a poster child for anti-gay bullying when it was nothing of the sort. Tyler Clementi had issues that led to his suicide but Ravi's actions were not the cause. If Tyler's hookup had been with women it is hard to see any charges here, even if the suicide still occurred.
The judge should have set aside the jury's verdict. They decided that Ravi did not intend any bias intimidation yet because they felt Clementi perceived it they found Ravi guilty. The prosecutors are now going to appeal the sentence---very strange considering they offered a plea deal with no jail time.
I'm never sure how that should be adjudicated. Having been 19, I know that bad decisions that could threaten my own life and the life of others are often part of the deal: sex without condoms and driving drunk are two fo the most common I would guess. Was this man curious or malicious? Unkind or cruel? On that I, even if I knew more, it wouldn't be enough.
Would that Ravi and Tyler had made different choices.
ps 100% of defendants with even half-ass lawyers appeal.
If you want to argue that the sentence should be sterner, go ahead. But stop acting like my initial comment was directed at you. Here's a hint: If someone posts something in response to something you DIDN'T say, then it likely wasn't directed at you.
This sentence was the best outcome, and I'm glad the commenters (mostly) realize it.
I really think this country needs to reexamine it's sentencing practices. 10 and 20 year sentences might as well be life sentences, as far as I'm concerned. Imagine you were facing a 10 year prison sentence. Imagine how that would factor into how you see the rest of your life playing out. I really think this country needs to focus on criminal justice reform.
" if indeed he has committed a crime."
Dharun Ravi has admitted to committing invasion of privacy.
Sandip Roy:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sandip-roy…