"The family of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman who committed suicide after his roommate broadcast a gay sexual tryst, bitterly asked the judge today to sentence Dharun Ravi to prison time."
"Clementi's father, Joseph Clementi, told the judge, "One of Tyler's last actions was to check Ravi's Twitter page" and noted that his son checked his roommate's Twitter page 37 times before leaving the Rutgers campus and driving to the George Washington Bridge where he jumped to his death."
"Ravi, 20, is convicted of a hate crime for using a webcame to spy on Clementi during a sexual liaison with a man identified only as "MB" and announcing what he saw on Twitter. Ravi put out another tweet when he heard Clementi was having a second date with MB."
"Joseph Clementi said that Ravi decided his son "wasn't deserving the respect of basic human decency" and "was below him" because Tyler Clementi was gay. "He did it in a cold calculating manner and then he tried to cover it up," the father, who had to pause to compose himself, said."
"Clementi's mother Jane Clementi cried in the front row has her husband spoke. He accused Ravi of having any lack of remorse."
"Tyler Clementi's mother Jane Clementi recalled the day she helped her "excited" son move into his Rutgers dorm room and the coldness Ravi showed by not getting up from his computer to say hello.
He never even paused to acknowledge that Tyler was in the room, she said. He never stopped what he was doing, no greeting, no smile, no recognition, no nothing."
"Jane Clementi said that though she initially thought Ravi may have been stressed or busy, she said she realized during trial that that was not the case. She heard during the trial that Ravi had not reached out to her son on Facebook or via email, but, rather, had used his computer skills to plug Clementi's email address into various computer programs to discover what websites he frequented and to discover that Tyler was gay."
"He never really knew Tyler, not the smart, kind, articulate, humble, funny, talented, caring, thoughtful, generous, trustworthy and dependable person Tyler was, she said. All he found out was that Tyler was gay."
"She called Ravi's actions toward her son arrogant and mean-spirited."
"Clementi's brother, James, told Judge Glenn Berman, I watched as Dharun slept through court as if it was not worth paying attention. I watched Dharun and his lawyers laugh as if it were a private joke."
"Earlier a lawyer for MB read a statement asking for prison time for Ravi because, he said, Ravi has not accepted responsibility for his actions. He must serve some type of confinement… To this day he appears to blame me for his conduct, citing Ravi's claim that he spied on his roommate because he feared MB would steal his iPad."
"MB said he does not believe, however, that Ravi should be deported."
"Ravi will make a statement to a packed New Brunswick, N.J. courtroom today before he is sentenced. In March, Ravi was found guilty of a hate crime for using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate Tyler Clementi."
"Ravi faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and any jail time will likely also mean deportation for the Indian native. Ravi was convicted of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering and hindering arrest, stemming from his role in activating the webcam to peek at Clementi's date with a man in the dorm room on Sept. 19, 2010."
"Ravi was also convicted of encouraging others to spy during a second date, on Sept. 21, 2010, and intimidating Clementi for being gay. The defendant will address the court today, sources told ABC News."
"His statement will join others, including members of Clementi's family, who are expected to make victim impact statements. In recent days, several prominent gay activists have made public pleas for Ravi to not be sent to prison."
"Judge Glenn Berman began the proceedings today by noting the court had received a box full of petitions seeking a pardon for Ravi. Some of the petitions were addressed to President Obama, but the judge said the president has no ability to pardon someone for a state crime."
"Some of the petitions were addressed to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who would have the authority to pardon someone for a state crime."
"Clementi's case gained national attention when he committed suicide shortly after the spying by jumping off the George Washington Bridge Sept. 22, 2010. Ravi is not charged in connection with Clementi's death."
"Three of the convictions carried a sentence of five to 10 years in prison. Because Ravi is a citizen of India, and is in the U.S. on a green card, he could be deported following his sentencing. The U.S. deports most criminals convicted of felonies, with the exception of thefts of amounts under $10,000."
"Ravi had previously rejected a plea deal that would have spared him any jail time or the threat of deportation, but put him on probation and would have required him to perform community service.
Ravi was found not guilty of some subparts of the 15 counts of bias intimidation, attempted invasion of privacy, and attempted bias intimidation, but needed only to be found guilty of one part of each count to be convicted."
R.I.P. ~ Tyler Clementi
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