[Aswdwdfg]

30 day jail sentence, judge went easy on him

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/nyregion/rutgers-spying-defendant-sentenced-to-30-days-in-jail.html

[+++Poguru+++]

Wow.

[ionitiesk]

Meh.

You have to look at this one way though.

This was a case of fatal douche-baggery.

It was mean, thoughtless and cruel... but he NEVER intended to kill the kid. He wasn't even using anything "lethal" on him....

30 seems light, but how does that stack up with everything else? Also, will he be deported?

[delnisfernan]

No deportation, which is appropriate. I would have liked to have seen about 6 mos, because everything can't be swept under the umbrella of 'prank', but I also believe he did not intend to want Tyler to harm himself or be humiliated to such an extent that it would affect the rest of his life. He got 3 years probation too. This will also be a part of his permanent record.

As far as his attitude toward the whole thing, no remorse at all.

"I heard this jury say, 'guilty' 288 times -- 24 questions, 12 jurors. That's the multiplication," Berman said. "I haven’t heard you apologize once." Prosecution will appeal.

[ZZtop]

I am not condoning him or his actions (or lack thereof), but there may be some other factors in the lack of apology.

1. Continued denial.
2. Scapegoat (what he did was bad, but was it as bad as the national attention he got for it?)
3. Culture (is he not familiar with apologizing? Would this be something he would feel he had to apologize FOR?)

Again, I am not forgiving him his act, but the whole thing sucks in too many ways for all who even touched this defective monkey's paw.

[aLZ9zKsO]

'Permanent record'?

[Dpkefsuf]

Actually I was wrong. On the news a little while ago, in sentencing, the judge said to him, paraphrasing, In time, you can expunge this conviction, but you cannot expunge the pain you have caused.
Likely at the end of his probationary period, or a period as determined by the court, his record will be wiped clean. As far as deportation, it is not the judge's call (not sure whose it is) but he recommended against it.

National attention couldn't be helped, court of public opinion & all that. Some stories just take off while others stay local for various reasons.

Even if Tyler had not killed himself, in any culture there has to be some sort of self-reproach, however small, with an acknowledgement that your actions caused at least humiliation.
The judge pointedly said he never viewed this case as a hate crime case because he doesn't believe Ravi hated Tyler, and didn't have reason to. If anything he's guilty of 'colossal insensitivity.' Even after Ravi found out Tyler had killed himself, it didn't seem to faze him & he chalked it up to him not having any friends.

[Affolfembonge]

Total cop out.

[Lvnufcdc]

Scapegoat (what he did was bad, but was it as bad as the national attention he got for it?)

It's an issue of national concern.

[i6mbwwdh]

^You can bet it will be a long time, if ever, that anyone in this country pulls that kind of 'prank' again after hearing the verdict and sentencing.


Total cop out. Exactly, PLUS he tried to cover it up, which means he knew he did something wrong, legally anyway. The taped interview with police is chilling. The detective is telling him it appears at that point, that Tyler has likely committed suicide. Ravi stares at him without moving. I'm under the impression he's frozen with fear/shame/guilt. The detective finishes what he has to say. Ravi starts talking. Well obviously, it was meant as a joke and something else I don't remember. Wow. He answered the cop as if he had just been accused of shaving his eyebrows off. The cop didn't give him any out though and was tough on him.

[9Goarveboofe]

It's an issue of national concern.

Is it really?

Is it a news flash that "peers" can be a-holes?

[Usendyduexy]

Yes, really. Not necessarily this case, but what it represents. The fact that Ravi got caught up in it and got "famous" is too freaking bad. Maybe being generally regarded as an asshole was proper punishment. The fact that there was a wide range of opinion and a wide range between verdict and sentence shows that there isn't a national consensus on how much of a problem - or how much a crime - this stuff is.

[BoomBully]

The problem I bring up zip is not a validation of the action, but a statement that this is something that has been around, in various forms, for quite a while.

It sucks in more ways than one, but has been ACCEPTED by society. Although pop culture plays it and many people frown, the geek/pariah still gets his humility handed to him (or her) on a daily basis.

So why s his case so much worse? Because his actions predicated a suicide? Personal experience: public humiliation isn't the only way to get that.

I think the focus is wrongly placed. I do not disagree that what this kid did was wrong, but we seem to be skipping around what should be done to discourage this kind of behavior. All we have told many that still do this is to not post this stuff on YouTube... but it certainly has not stopped.

[SiM7W2zi]

This will be a long uphill battle. Public lynching was an acceptable social convention in this country for a long time. Progress marches along.

[Veronnisa]

It's been 30 years and it is still OK to beat up the geeks in High School.....

[phinno13]

It sucks in more ways than one, but has been ACCEPTED by society.

Obviously it hasn't.

So why s his case so much worse? Because his actions predicated a suicide? Who said the case is worse? He wasn't charged with any sort of homicide. The media interest is there because there was a death, but the issue is the same without it.

I think the focus is wrongly placed. I do not disagree that what this kid did was wrong, but we seem to be skipping around what should be done to discourage this kind of behavior. If - as you stated - this has been accepted by society, what do you suggest should be done?

Other than a through a case involving a fatality, how do you raise public awareness and official action.

Example: Greenwich and Reade St is a T-intersection. There's a playground and several schools nearby. For ages, neighborhood people have been battling with the DOT to install a traffic signal. The DOT resisted, stating there was no justification for it. Finally, they agreed to do a study, which went on for months. During that time, a preschool child was hit by a taxi.

End of study. End of argument. Traffic signal quickly installed.

[Allorneadesee]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

[zabiqapara]

This gets more ridiculous. I just saw on the news, but I can't find it online, that Ravi has earned 10 days off his sentence for "good behavior". What good behavior? What has he done to earn that, by not getting in trouble since this whole thing started? He hasn't even been incarcerated, he's been out on bail pending an appeal. Six months would have been adequate, one year would have been ideal. What happened here is lindsay lohan coddling california bullsh*t. He accepts absolutely no responsibility, not even a little bit, for what he's done.