Juror in Dharun Ravi trial says he's satisfied with Friday's verdict

By: Casey Glynn
Topics: Daily Blotter

Dharun Ravi, center, is helped by his father, Ravi Pazhani, right, as they leave court around noon in New Brunswick, N.J., Friday, March 16, 2012.

/ AP Photo/Mel Evans

(CBS/AP) NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - A juror in the trial of former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi says he was satisfied with Friday's verdict.

Pictures: Tyler Clementi
Pictures: Rutgers Spycam Trial

The jury found that Ravi used a webcam to spy on Tyler Clementi's intimate encounter with another man in September 2010 and that he did it - and told others about it - because of a bias against gays.

Clementi later committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

The jury found Ravi guilty on all 15 counts against him, even though they judged him not guilty on subparts of some charges.

"I'm actually satisfied with the verdict. It was very hard, very difficult," juror Bruno Ferreira said, according to nj.com.

Ferreira says that although the charges of witness tampering, evidence tampering and invasion of privacy were "cut and dry," jurors spent some time debating on the bias charges, nj.com reports. He said the panel deliberated for much more than an hour, but did not specify for how long.

"You can't know what someone's thinking. You have to get inside their head," he reportedly said. "Afterwards, you think about it not being done once, but being done twice another day. That's why we came to that conclusion."

Ferreira said he hopes the verdict will bring some peace to the families, nj.com reports.

Ravi could get up to 10 years in prison by some estimates, and according to nj.com, immigration experts say that Ravi, who was born in India, also faces a "very significant" chance of having to defend himself in deportation proceedings.

Complete coverage of Tyler Clementi and the Dharun Ravi trial on Crimesider

10 Photos

Rutgers Spycam Trial

View the Full Gallery »

5 Comments +

Add a Comment


by blogger19 March 19, 2012 9:41 AM EDT: Seriously FreeAmerica, you are in need of an evaluation yourself. Mr. Clementi brought 1 man NOT various to his room. Mr. Ravi DID NOT have to "listen" in the room next door, he could have gone out with friends to dinner, seen a movie, or perhaps gone to study in the library.

In my opinion, it is attitudes like yours of blaming the victim is the reason that we have hate crimes in this country.; Reply to this comment


by fantod-2009 March 19, 2012 2:02 AM EDT: freeamerica31: you contradict yourself. On the one hand you say one has little or no expectation of privacy when one has roommates. On the other, you seem to argue that Ravi had a right to publicly out Clementi because Ravi's privacy was invaded.

I agree that Ravi's sentence was more severe than it should have been. However, what he did was illegal, the roommate situation notwithstanding. To claim that Clementi somehow invaded Ravi's privacy by having sex in a dorm room is ridiculous. To insinuate that it somehow equates to or justifies what Ravi did with his webcam is even more so.

If Ravi had serious issues with Clementi as a roommate, he should and could have taken it up with the college and changed his living situation.; Reply to this comment

by lauritony March 17, 2012 11:56 AM EDT

He knew exactly what he was doing and tried to play the dumb kid card. He may not have intentially killed Tyler, but as a result of not thinking of how Tyler would feel or thinking at all, he did. I am so sick of non-acceptance in this world.

I am glad he will be in prison. That should wipe his smug little smile off his face.

There have been too many verdicts that went the wrong way in the past year.

Reply to this comment


by freeamerica31 March 18, 2012 12:52 PM EDT: Key word in your statement is "intentionally killed". Mr Ravi simply intended to embarass a man that was invading his privacy first.

Roommates have little or no expectation of the privacy you would receive if you're living on your own in your own place. Mr Ravi was obviously bothered by having to see and listen to these two men go at it in the night.

Mr Clementi obviously didn't care to hide his affairs from Mr Ravi and openly brought men over for sex. Mr Clementi couldn't have expected his life to remain private based on that premise alone.

Mr Clementi was obviously mentally ill and ashamed of his activites because he killed himself when outed publicly. The shame Mr Clementi felt was not caused by Mr Ravi but must have been born from being brought up by his Parents, Relatives and Friends. Why didn't anyone charge them with homicide?

While Mr Ravi was morally wrong and could have gone a different route to have Mr Clementi take his activities to a more private atmosphere, he is not guilty of any crime.

The Prosecuter, Judge and Jurist should all be charged with a Federal Hate Crime based on the illegal and discriminatory practice of finding him guilty based on their moral outrage and his culture.

While Mr Clementi being mentally ill long before Mr Ravi came along, Mr Clementi should bear sole responsibility for his own death or his family, relatives and friends because it is obvious he was indoctrinated to feel ashamed of being homosexual and thus felt the need to kill himself when publicly outed. If you live your life your way why be embarrassed, unless those closest to you make you feel that way.

This is not about Mr Ravi but Mr Clementi's family, relatives and friends who want to erase their guilt of making Mr Clementi feel he needed to die when they found out and not Mr Ravi outing him in public.


by ozilot March 16, 2012 11:35 PM EDT: I'm not eager to see Ravi go to prison for ten years, perhaps a year or two and I would not be sad to see him deported back to India.; Reply to this comment