Guilty verdict in gay webcam spying case

[jamieknyc]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/16/justice/new-jersey-rutgers-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

I think the jury made the right decision here.

[androgynous34]

I agree he should have been found guilty. What he did was wrong. Let consenting adults do as they please.

[The Bisexual Virgin]

Am I the only one that think there's is something more to this story here? I mean sure the boy was gay, and posted a picture of him kissing some other dude, that's kind of his fault. But when I read the yahoo article on this story to long ago, they mention something about the boys mother, and the problems he had with her. I serioulsy believe there's more to this story that we don't know, and that boy should not be in jail. unless he wants to be.

[DuckiesDarling]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/16/justice/new-jersey-rutgers-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

I think the jury made the right decision here.

I gotta agree here, Jamie. I don't think they could have possibly pushed for the involuntary manslaughter they were talking about when the case first broke. He violated the privacy, he did not push him off the bridge. It's a tragedy all the way around for everyone involved.

[pepperjack]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/16/justice/new-jersey-rutgers-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

I think the jury made the right decision here.

I just can't buy his attorney's argument that he's naive about homosexuality. C'mon, at that age, with all the raging hormones going on? And if he had a problem with it before, how's he going to handle prison? Frying pan to the fire?

[elian]

When I heard the defense argument it did cast doubt in my mind, I know that I would be unhappy with a stranger coming over having unrestricted access to my stuff, but to watch the camera with a whole other group of students in another room seems a little over the top to claim that was his only concern.

The bottom line is, even if he didn't intend to harass the gay student, the actions indirectly contributed to the suicide so I would still consider the charge to be something like "involuntary manslaughter" even if it wasn't a direct hate crime.

I know labels for life aren't something we should throw around lightly, but actions have consequences.

[Long Duck Dong]

couple of things bug the hell outta me..... "
And because prosecutors were able to prove that Ravi's actions were born of a gay bias, the possible sentence doubles from up to five years to 10 years behind bars "

I have issues with the idea that crimes against LGBT are classed as worse than crimes against any other person, as it flies directly in the face of our stance of equality for all and we want to be just like everybody else.....

"Ravi's attorneys countered by saying their client acted thoughtlessly, portraying him as an immature college student who made a mistake, and that his actions were not based on homophobia. "He hasn't lived long enough to have any experience with homosexuality or gays," attorney Steven Altman said in closing arguments earlier this week. "He doesn't know anything about it. He just graduated high school." it is possibly true, that ravi was not being homophobic or or acting in a deliberate manner to cause excess harm and suffering and I base that around the fact there is no mention of visible and ongoing homosexual hostility..... but the fact that it was a gay man that died, is being treated as a hate crime..... and to me there is a difference between doing something stupid, and trying out for the westboro baptist church cheerleader squad......

I guess my issue is that when its a celeb sex tape, most people are all over it like a nympho at a sex orgy but if its LGBT, its treated like the hate crime of the decade and somehow rates more of a harsher penalty than other sexualities...

equality is what we want and what we fight for... and the laws need to reflect that by making the harsher penalities equal for everybody, not just a select few..... as that would be one step closer to equality, not special treatment for a few

[tenni]

guilty including invasion of privacy and the more severe charges of bias intimidation....also found guilty of witness tampering, hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence, and could now face up to 10 years in jail and deportation to his native India.

in New Jersey the location of the university
a. Bias Intimidation. A person is guilty of the crime of bias intimidation if he commits, attempts to commit, conspires with another to commit, or threatens the immediate commission of an offense specified in chapters 11 through 18 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes; N.J.S.2C:33-4; N.J.S.2C:39-3; N.J.S.2C:39-4 or N.J.S.2C:39-5,
(1) with a purpose to intimidate an individual or group of individuals because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity; or
(2) knowing that the conduct constituting the offense would cause an individual or group of individuals to be intimidated because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity; or
(3) under circumstances that caused any victim of the underlying offense to be intimidated and the victim, considering the manner in which the offense was committed, reasonably believed either that (a) the offense was committed with a purpose to intimidate the victim or any person or entity in whose welfare the victim is interested because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, or (b) the victim or the victim's property was selected to be the target of the offense because of the victim's race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

[AlaskanGirl]

I'm not really all that sure what to make of this story. But i feel bad that a boy lost his life for something so small as a kiss.

[æonpax]

Ravi was convicted on Friday of all 15 counts, including bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and witness tampering. This verdict sends an exceptionally strong message. The jury was saying that they were having zero tolerance for anything that appeared to be bullying.

While I am generally not in favor of hate crime enhancers as they can too easily be abused, this is one incident where it worked.

[Lovekisser]

I believe that I had heard of this case months ago; and there was a female student in on the videoing ? Unless, there are more than one case. The gal is a student and she is oriental.

[PolyLoveTriad]

The guy didnt just post a picture of his roomie kissing another guy. When his roomie asked him if he could use the room, his turned on his webcam and then tweeted for everyone to watch his roomie going at it with his boyfriend. It was a malicious act. Personally I think the guy turning down the plea offer was a good idea. He wouldnt have gotten any time in jail for it and now he is facing up to 10 years. He got what he deserves and I hope this sends a message out to other people that you cant do this sort of thing, its wrong and you will get in trouble for it.

[nutme]

Just throwing this out there for thought. Consider this same exact scenario, but the circumstances involved a virgin man who got videod and was so upset that he went to the GWB and jumped. Would this be national news?