After 20 days in prison, Dharun Ravi is a free man.
The 20-year-old former Rutgers University student walked out of Middlesex County Department of Corrections Tuesday morning, smiling and with a beard he didn’t sport when he reported to prison May 31.
Ravi was convicted of several counts of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy this spring for spying on his Rutgers roommate Tyler Clementi’s embrace with another man in September 2010. Ravi watched the encounter remotely via a webcam and invited others to view it. Shortly after learning about the privacy invasion, Clementi committed suicide.
Last month, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman sentenced Ravi to 30 days in jail, far below the 10 years he could have faced.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys have appealed the sentence.
All prisoners automatically receive a five-day credit for good behavior, and Ravi received an additional five-day credit for working, allowing for the early release.
Garden State Equality chair Steven Goldstein called Ravi’s 20 days in prison “a travesty of justice.” He said Ravi’s defense was “engineered by powerhouse lawyers and a publicity machine few others in his position could ever afford.”
“Had Ravi gotten two-years’ jail time, or a year, or even six months, any of those would have better reflected a balance of crime and punishment without vengeance for the sake of vengeance,” Goldstein said. “Instead, 20 days in jail was a fleeting and repugnant non-lesson for a young man who passed up nearly every chance to show remorse.”
Clementi’s family pointed out before the sentencing that Ravi never offered an apology for his actions or took responsibility for his role in the incident. In a statement released before he entered prison, Ravi offered some words of remorse but the family characterized them as insincere.
Ravi is a native of India and moved to the United States at age 5.
Since he is still an Indian citizen, his conviction could have merited deportation, but immigration authorities announced Monday that they would not move to deport him.
Goldstein said his agency agreed with that decision, which he called “extreme.”
“We are uncomfortable with the government’s using citizenship or residency status as a weapon against someone who has spent almost his entire life in the United States.”
Ravi was also sentenced to 300 hours of community service, which he will begin immediately; a fine of more than $11,000; and he must attend anti-bullying training.