Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi was sentenced May 21 to 30 days in jail for using a Web cam to spy on roommate Tyler Clementi, who had a tryst with another man, according to the New York Post.
Days after finding out he was taped, Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.
Judge Glenn Berman angrily lashed out at Ravi, 20, saying, "I heard this jury say guilty 288 times, 24 questions, 12 jurors, that's the multiplication—and I haven't heard you apologize once."
Ravi also received three years probation, 300 hours of community service, a $10,000 fine and counseling on cyberbullying and "alternate lifestyles." He had convicted in March on 15 criminal counts, including bias intimidation, had could have gotten up to 10 years behind bars.
Ravi actually had the backing of some gay activists before sentencing. According to the Chicago Tribune, Aaron Hicklin, editor of Out magazine, has suggested that Ravi be set free, saying "the verdict ... left a bitter aftertaste, as if what was being satisfied was not justice, but revenge." In addition, gay Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan wrote that the hate-crime charges against Ravi were "tenuous" and "repellent." Former N.J. Gov. Jim McGreevey and writer/activist Dan Savage have also made similar statements.
The Post reported that the unidentified man who was caught with Clementi also supports Ravi in his fight to remain on U.S. soil. Defense attorneys had worried that Ravi could be deported as a result of his conviction.
