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Lee Celano / Reuters file
Dharun Ravi stands alone after being sentenced to 30 days for using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, and another man in their college dorm room. The case that drew national attention to bullying.
A former Rutgers University student criticized by a judge for refusing to apologize for using a webcam to spy on his male roommate kissing another man days before the roommate killed himself apologized on Tuesday and said he has accepted responsibility for what he did.
"I accept responsibility for and regret my thoughtless, insensitive, immature, stupid and childish choices that I made on Sept. 19, 2010, and Sept. 21, 2010," Dharun Ravi, 20, said in a statement issued through a lawyer. "My behavior and actions, which at no time were motivated by hate, bigotry, prejudice or desire to hurt, humiliate or embarrass anyone, were nonetheless the wrong choices and decisions. I apologize to everyone affected by those choices."
Ravi also said he will begin serving a 30-day jail term on Thursday even though he doesn't have to because the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is appealing the sentence, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported. "It's the only way I can go on with my life," he said in the statement.
It was his most contrite public statement in a case that made him a symbol of what his family called an overzealous prosecution and that made his roommate, Tyler Clementi, a prime example of what gay rights advocates said were the consequences of bullying.
After spending two days repeatedly looking at the Twitter feed on which Ravi announced "I saw him making out with a dude. Yay," Clementi threw himself from New York City's George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, 2010.
In March, a jury convicted Ravi of all 15 criminal counts with which he was charged, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation. On two of the intimidation counts, he faced up to 10 years in state prison.
Last week, a judge sentenced him to 30 days in jail beginning May 31. The judge's sentence was dramatically more lenient than state sentencing guidelines, The Star-Ledger reported, which call for five to seven years for second-degree crimes. Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman, however, found that this case included "extraordinary circumstances."
Ravi could be released in 20 days for good behavior, according to The Star-Ledger.
Prosecutors, finding the sentence too lenient, said they would appeal. Still, the prosecution was a landmark in New Jersey, according to The Star-Ledger. It was the first time invasion of privacy has been tied to bias intimidation.
Ravi's lawyers have said they expect to appeal the convictions entirely. They say that he was not hateful and that authorities charged him with such serious crimes because of Clementi's suicide even though he was not charged with the 18-year-old's death.
Steven D. Altman, one of his lawyers, did not immediately return a phone call from msnbc.com on Tuesday afternoon.
The apology comes as a reversal in course for Ravi, whose story inspired hundreds of people to rally at New Jersey's State House calling for no prison time and changes in the state's hate crime laws.
When Ravi was sentenced last month, Judge Glenn Berman chastised him for not apologizing for his actions.
"I heard this jury say 'guilty' 288 times," Berman said, referring to all the sub-parts of the charges Ravi faced repeated 12 times, once for each juror. "And I haven't heard you apologize once."
During the court proceeding, Ravi, who expressed remorse in March in a newspaper interview, chose not to address the judge, though he cried as his mother pleaded for mercy from the judge.
He told The Star-Ledger newspaper in an interview conducted before the sentencing but published afterward that he did not want to say he was sorry during the sentencing because he thought it would sound insincere.
During the sentencing, Clementi's brother James Clementi said that hearing an apology so late from Ravi would not be meaningful to him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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NO WAY am I taking this apology as sincere!!! Watching him sitting there during his sentencing, seeing, what looked like to me, him fighting to just try to stay awake, seeing no emotion at any time except when his mother read her statement, nope, no way! I'd like to tell him where he can stick his "apology"! I'd bet he will come out of his 30 days lockup and his required therapy, etc., and still be a smug little punk.
As much as I resent loss of life, I don't think any punishment is meaningful if that doesn't set an example for the society and millions of people who are ignorant like Dharun Ravi is. I understand there is lot of heart burn around jail term of 30days but it doesn't serve any purpose to punish this young man any more. Ravi's already suffered for a while now and codemned by many (rightfully so) for a thoughtless act. He would be haunted by the fact that his stupidity has resulted in a loss of young man's life for rest of his life and thus sets an example for people across the world on how not to waste your youth in resorting to acts that are detrimental to all of us as a society.
Allie - actually, he may really be sincere. There's a good chance that his lawyer forbade him to make any type of apology until the trial was over - doing so could have been interpreted and used by the prosecution as an admission of guilt.
Trust me, I'm not apologizing for him or sticking up for him. I contribute to Lambda Legal and the ACLU.
Should've been deported. How does someone found guilty on all accounts yet be sentenced to only 30 days with a possibility of even less time than that in prison? That is not enough time for someone to reflect on how horrible the choices they made were. Even if it is not hate related, bullying is bullying whether you believe to see it for what it is or not.
He gets NO prison time. He gets county jail time. There are people sitting in prison on lesser crimes than this. They probably knew he would NOT fair well in the prison. His acts and behavior are shameful. I agree, this supposed apology is nothing more than the fact that he got caught, and the pity is for himself, and that he will now be held , somewhat, accountable for his actions. A lesson learned? Nope, I don't believe so.
Apology accepted.
IMHO- This case is about the revenge of homosexual groups targeting a minority Indian. If Dharun Ravi's name was Joe Smith - this case would not even go to trial. Many majority people in NJ are jealous of successful Indians and Indian families. They wanted to teach an Indian origin person a lesson.
Oh, no, he would've been charged. It's not about him being Indian at all.
With an ID like "Master of the Universe", I find it difficult to consider you "humble" at all. (Deep Sigh) However, you are entitled to your opinion. It is just a shame you have to further inflame the issue accusing 'majority people in NJ' (whatever that means) of being jealous of 'successful Indians' (whoever they are). And implying homosexual groups(?) need revenge is ridiculous. Such a waste...
NOT the race card, again? Give it a break. A crime is a crime, no matter what RACE you are. The unfairness is deep rooted in the justice system itself. DON'T continue to make things race related. STOP the pattern of racism. Wrong is always wrong...not matter what.
I see he's also a BS liar!
I don't believe his apology at all. He's more concerned with "getting on with his life" than feeling sorry for what he did. He didn't mean to cause Clementi's death, but his actions were completely callous and he doesn't seem remorseful. Have fun in jail, Ravi.
How do you judge an apology and whether it's genuine or not? Just because Ravi doesn't look or talk like you doesn't mean he's not speaking truth. You are committing same mistake as Ravi did by judging him from what you see is right or wrong. Let me make it clear that I am not supporting Ravi's mindless acts..I am far from it and looking forward to an opportunity on how this incident can be used to bring more awareness to remove this inherent bias in the society.
For one thing, Ravi never apologized to Clementi's parents or family. He had numerous opportunities to do that before and during trial, but never did. As the judge noted, Ravi showed no remorse.
A little too late for an apology.
Whether sincere or not, he apologized. What do some of you want? Do you want him to kill himself because his roommate committed suicide?
I'm not defending what he did. It was wrong. But it wasn't the first, and it won't be the last time someone takes a video of someone having sex and broadcasts it over the Internet.
No, but hopefully, IF there had been a stiffer sentence, it might have prevented others from doing the same criminal act. As others have said above, bullying is bullying, no matter what form it takes, and that type of spying and internet posting is the 21st century form of physical/mental bullying.
As others have also said...too little, too late. He still seems like a smug young man who hasn't fully accepted the responsibility for his actions and their consequences. I too hope that he gets deported when all is said and done.
I agree, Anti-trust - NO example was made of him. A slap on the wrist, and off he goes. I would really be surprised if he serves his full 30 days. Of course, we won't hear about that....
DEPORT HIM. He gets to live...let him live and be well in India.
With the laws changing, he will be one of the last people able to act unlawfully and get away with it. Thirty days - that is just plain dumb as he deserved a minimum of 2 years in prison for this Hate Crime.
too little too late ,hopefully he gets deported ,if not I hope every job recuriter does a background check on him and never gets hired , thus he goes back to INDIA...., RIP Tyler CLEMENTI
I feel sorry for loss of life and don't condemn the acts of Ravi by any means.However I can only laugh at your stupidity and the thought of deportation as a punishment to Ravi. It's very much possible that Ravi would plan to return to India after the jail term and the probation period and this should never be a subject of this discussion. As a society, We should all condemn the acts of Ravi and resent loss of life rather than make lot of noise on the fact Ravi is from India and an immigrant (just because this description fits the current political climate and job market situation).
Apologise for a typo in my comment earlier. Please read my note as 'I don't condone the acts of Ravi'. I want to clarify that I condemn all sorts of descrimination, bias and bullying that exists in society in any form.
Way too little, way too late. The only thing this smug, entitled bastard is sorry for is that a jury saw his so-called "prank" for what it really was -- a hate crime.
If there is any kind of justice, Ravi will never escape the specter of his guilt and he will go through the rest of his life labeled as a murderous bigot who destroyed a damaged kid through his thoughtless, hateful actions.
" "My behavior and actions, which at no time were motivated by hate, bigotry, prejudice or desire to hurt, humiliate or embarrass anyone,"""
Right....
remember Dharun...Karma
Too little, too late. Deport his worthless arse.
So, if this guy becomes so over distraught with guilt due to the incessant hate and bullying of him FROM AN ENTIRE COUNTRY, and decides to take his life, will all of you come forth with a heart felt apology? Will you all gladly accept a long prison sentence for you actions, or will 30 days suffice for you?
If the "entire country" hates Ravi, I say the majority rules!
"My behavior and actions, which at no time were motivated by hate, bigotry, prejudice or desire to hurt, humiliate or embarrass anyone, were nonetheless the wrong choices and decisions."
So, you did this WHY then?
No worries. He'll never be able to walk the earth in peace again. 30 days was a slap in the face for something that deserved a lifetime of jail/humiliation equal to the humiliation and pain he caused. Youth is not a license to harm anyone - psychologically or physically. NO excuses. He'll never have a normal life - and he shouldn't. He ended a life and 30 days or 3000 days - his days of being anyone - at all - is over.
he did this because he's a kid, and kids, like a lot of adults, sometimes do stupid things without foresight. I feel bad for this kid, i don't know him, he could be a great person who made a terrible error in judgement, or he could be a total jerk. my guess is he is somewhere in between like all of you and me. while i'm sure he meant to embarrass his roommate, i am also sure he never expected him to commit suicide. And, as long as i'm ranting, if you honestly believe that this one incident was the sole reason that poor kid killed himself, i don't understand your line of reasoning. People who commit suicide are troubled, and it is also a stupid decision without much foresight. I for one believe that Ravi is sincere in his apology, but tell me at what point would you have considered it genuine enough? If it was right after the fact, you would say "he's only saying that to avoid charges" , during the trial? "he's just trying to reduce his sentence!" This case is a tragedy, but not the crime of the century, this kid has to live with himself after this, and he should feel partially responsible, hopefully he will learn from this and go on to try to be a better person. But stop saying he should be locked away for years, he didn't throw that poor kid off the bridge, that was his foolish decision, and you should let him own it!
Ohh Really? What if Clemente were your brother or son? Would you feel the way you do now? I think not!!!
you know what, i think i would have more anger towards that person, but if my brother or son killed themselves, i would put the blame on them. Suicide is a selfish act, having been around it more than once, i can speak intelligently about that. It is a tragedy that that Clementi took his own life, but let me ask you this, he left a suicide note. It was not provided to the defense, or even used by the prosecution in this trial because the judge ruled that it contained nothing relevant to Ravi. That's right, when this boy left a note explaining why he was killing himself, he didn't even mention his roommate. So apparently this poor boy had other serious troubles. I agree that what his roommate did was despicable, and he should be ashamed of himself. However, I do not think that he is responsible for Clementi's suicide, his actions may very well have helped push him over the brink, but the blame for Clementi's death should lie squarely on Clementi himself.
Too little, too late!! . . . enjoy being gainfully unemployed for the rest of your life -- this will follow you forever . . . alot of good that college education will do you now.
Judge Berman got it exactly right!! So many people commenting here seem to have forgotten that Dharun was never charged, nor should he have been with causing Tyler to commit suicide. There were so many other factors involved in Tyler Clementi making that tragic decision to end his life which we will never know - among them the important fact that this young man was admittedly devastated that his mother had rejected him when he 'came out'.
Dharun Ravi has spent the past 20 months in a self -imposed house arrest, has lost over twenty pounds and done little BUT regret his actions and stupidly insensitive decisions of that day - just as he will for the rest of his life. That is enough of a sentence for "invasion of privacy" and deleting texts, etc, He and his family tried to reach out to the Clementi family immediately and the door was shut in their faces. Once court proceedings started, his lawyer could not let him make any kind of statement or apology for his insensitive actions or behavior. The interview he did on television was edited so severely that all of the kind things he said about Tyler and how he tried to communicate and get to know him and how he felt such remorse and regret over his insensitive actions were taken out so the story made "more sensational news". As soon as he was 'allowed' to make a public apology he did so. Of course people will pick apart every word and say it's too late, etc. Remember he was legally constrained from saying anything once proceedings started.
Most of what has been printed in the NY Times and other papers has been very light on facts and heavy in incorrect information, all just to make for a better story. I will no longer believe another word I read after seeing how little the "actual truth" means to the media. God forbid any of their family members should ever be put through the unjust nightmare the Ravi family has had to endure due to all of the lies and misinformation tossed around by the media. They are STILL saying that he taped "roommate having sex", etc which they KNOW for a fact never happened! But they keep printing it because they are on a witch hunt. It's pathetic. He has taken responsibility for his actions and will serve his sentence. Enough already!!
The prosecution needs to STOP chasing for a harsher penalty and acknowledge all of the "other factors" that were involved in Tylers decision to commit suicide. I feel awful for the Clementi family and the tragic loss they have suffered but it's like they are shifting all of the blame for Tylers decision onto the shoulders of Dharun Ravi. Dharun Ravi's actions were "colossally insensitive" but he is not responsible for that dear young mans death in any way. Much, much more was going on there and had been for a long time and people close to him KNOW that. Let Dharun complete his sentence and probation and move on with his life.
He setup the camera but never recorded. It was live webcast (this distinction is important in legal proceedings) for a few minutes in which all that anybody saw was a guy kissing another guy. Ravi has no history of being abusive to any gay people - neither in words nor in actions.
At the most he should have been charged with a FOURTH degree invasion of privacy offence which is applicable when someone spies on someone without their knowledge or consent. It is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 2 years.
If any sexual activity was visible or any sex organs were visible, it could have been upgraded to a third degree invasion of privacy charge but that didn't happen.
He was instead charged with bias intimidation using a strange aspect of the law which says it does not matter what RAVI's intention was. What matters is what Tyler Clementi FELT Ravi's intention was. so basically the jury read Tyler's mind after he was dead and decided that Tyler FELT Ravi wanted to intimidate him because of his bias against gay people.
Think about it. So in future your case will not be decided by YOUR motive but what your victim FELT was your motive.
This is a stupid slippery slope and turns the entire jurisprudence on its head.
Judge Berman got it exactly right!! So many people commenting here seem to have forgotten that Dharun was never charged, nor should he have been with causing Tyler to commit suicide. There were so many other factors involved in Tyler Clementis tragic decision which we will never know - and among them is the important fact that this young man was admittedly devastated that his mother had rejected him when he 'came out'.
Dharun Ravi has spent the past 20 months in a self -imposed house arrest, has lost over twenty pounds and done little BUT regret his actions and stupidly insensitive decisions of that day - just as he will for the rest of his life. That is enough of a sentence for "invasion of privacy" and deleting texts, etc, He and his family tried to reach out to the Clementi family immediately and the door was shut in their faces. Once court proceedings started, his lawyer could not let him make any kind of statement or apology for his insensitive actions or behavior. The interview he did on television was edited so severely that all of the kind things he said about Tyler and how tried to communicate and get to know him and that he felt such remorse and regret for what he did were taken out, so the story made "more sensational news".
Most of what has been printed in the NY Times and other papers has been very light on facts and heavy in incorrect information, all just to make for a better story. I will no longer believe another word I read after seeing how little the "actual truth" means to the media. God forbid any of their family members should ever be put through the unjust nightmare the Ravi family has had to endure due to all of the lies and misinformation tossed around by the media. They are STILL saying that he taped "roommate having sex", etc which they KNOW for a fact never happened! But, they keep printing it because they are on a witch hunt which is outrageous.....and sadly not many people do enough reading or research and believe all of the untruths and then comment on these sites.
Dharun Ravi has taken responsibility for his actions and will serve his sentence. Enough already!! The Prosecutor needs to stop chasing for a harsher penalty and acknowledge all of the "other factors" that led Tyler to commit suicide. Dharun Ravi's actions were "colossally insensitive" but he is not responsible for that dear young mans death in any way. Much, much more was going on with Tyler and the people close to him know that. Dharun Ravi will his complete his sentence, probation, counseling, etc. and will move on with his life as a changed person, a wiser young man who will never forget Tyler - but move on he should!!
Dharun Ravi's "apologies" could be accepted, if Mr. Clementi was alive and well today, sadly, he is not! "Invasion of privacy" has cost Ravi 20 months?, this invasion has cost Mr. Clementis' life and an eternity of sorrow for his family.
I do greatly regret that the victim of this crime was so distraught over it that he committed suicide, but I see that as an overreaction to a rather minor crime on the part of Ravi which does not warrent a 7 or 10 year sentence as was originally considered. 30 days to 6 months is about right in my opinion. Ravi simply used a video camera to secretly record someone; he did not violently bully, or even verbally harrass the victim. He ignorantly found the victim's lifestyle strange/unusual, and videotaped it. The fact that the victim felt uncomfortable with being gay and with others finding out about it is as much a shortcoming on the part of the victim as on Ravi. If the victim was gay and people found out, so what?? Gay people are rather common in NJ/NY and there is strong acceptance of them there, especially on a college campus. All Ravi did was expose something true about the victim that the victim shouldn't have felt embarrassed about anyway.
You forgot to mention that he shared it with others...and gave everyone a heads-up as to the next viewing event. That rules out individual 'curiosity'.
Again, it wasn't an individual secretly recording someone...Ravi made certain that his friends saw it. No, no violence involved...but he did bully and harass the victimS.
Even heterosexuals would find Ravi's actions offensive. One should have the right to privacy. If he had wanted to 'share' with Ravi...he wouldn't have asked for that privacy.
umm there was no TAPING ...taping means recording something such that it persists.
It was a webcast ...nothing got recorded. Even if you don't, the law makes and recognized that distinction. Furthermore, th entire thing lasted not more than 10 seconds if that and all anybody ever saw was two guys kissing.
You can definitely find his actions offensive - everybody does - but i for one do not find it offensive enough to put him in jail for 10 years. And there was no INTENT to intimidate or bully. I am not sure why people are not able to make these simple distinctions on their own.
I also don't understand why people are not willing to give this kid the benefit of doubt for just being a stupid kid who thought he was doing something funny - especially when there is no prior history of mean behavior towards gay people - instead of attributing all the very worst motives to him.
I see the future - when he's out, Prep H would be right behind him for endorsement.
Almost had me there.
If there was no intent to hurt, humiliate or embarrass...why do it at all? Tweeting when the 'cam' will be up was meant to be what...an act of kindness?
I think someone should find out what his little pervy kink secrets are, get them on video and post them for all the world to see on YouTube. Then he will know what it means to be publicly humiliated to the point of wanting to take a step off of a bridge. If it was not his intention to "hurt, humiliate or embarrass anyone; if he was not motivated by hate, bigotry or predjudice, what then? Could it be that he shot that secret footage because he, in fact, enjoyed watching that kind of thing?
I doubt it. If that were the case...he wouldn't have had so much fun making it public...he would have kept it to himself. He wouldn't have had Wei turn the cam on...he would have done so privately.
What goes around...comes around. No one needs to go out of there way to publicly humiliate Ravi...he's doing a great job on his own.
I followed the trial daily through and including the sentencing and I found Ravi to be a disgustingly immature and cold person. He had not apologised once or sent a letter to the family to apologise. Suddenly, now, he decides to say he is sorry?????? Then he states his actions were not hate motivated - oh please, he is full of it. He has embarresed his family and his homeland India as well. Thirty days was much too lenient and I am so disappointed with this judge who bent over backwards to be fair during the trial, then gave harsh words to Ravi, including saying that Ravi had not even apologised for his unlawful actions. Then this judge sentences him to 30 days???????? Puhleeze, his sentence whould have been at least two years!!!
Two years for pointing a webcam at someone ? You are kidding right ?
How much time did the pervert who recorded Erin Andrews get ?