Bullying, Dharun Ravi | featured news

Dharun Ravi, who was convicted of bias intimidation for using a webcam to see his roommate kiss another man, has been released from jail after serving 20 days of a 30-day sentence.

After apologizing for using a webcam to spy on his male roommate kissing another man days before the roommate killed himself, former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi told a New Jersey state court he would report to jail Thursday to serve his 30-day sentence.

The parents, brother and a male friend of Tyler Clementi, a gay Rutgers University student who committed suicide in 2010 after learning that his date with the friend had been secretly videotaped by his roommate, Dharun Ravi, urged a judge Monday to give Ravi prison time.

An alternate juror in the trial of a former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi said he disagrees with the verdict.

Dharun Ravi was an immature college kid who invaded his roommate's privacy. In New Jersey, that makes him a convicted felon who faces up to 10 years in prison. Locking up Ravi ultimately won't do much to stop bullying or fight homophobia.

Lawyers say the verdict in the Rutgers bias-intimidation case against Dharun Ravi was a sign that the “jerky kid” defense may no longer hold as much sway.

Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi could face more than 10 years in prison following his conviction Friday for hate crimes, invasion of privacy, tampering with evidence, and a host of other charges related to his spying on his gay college roommate, Tyler Clementi, whose subsequent suicide sparked a national debate on bullying of gay youth.