Former Bergen County Prosecutor Jay Fahy said he was surprised by the 30-day prison sentence Dharun Ravi received in the webcam spying case. He sat down with NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider to discuss the case and what could be in Ravi’s future.
Fahy said he thought Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman would sentence Ravi to about a year in county jail. “I kind of thought he wouldn’t give state prison time but given the notoriety of the case and given it was hard fought trial, I expected more time,” he said.
To explain the small amount of jail time, Fahy said the judge likely considered what the sentence should be if there was no suicide in the case. “If Clementi had not jumped off the George Washington Bridge, this is a probation case or in New Jersey, we have pretrial intervention which means you basically get off scot-free after a period of adjustment. So if you take the suicide out of it, he probably did the right thing,” Fahy said.
According to Fahy, the distinction between a hate crime and bias intimidation is important. Ravi was convicted on bias intimidation. “There was no evidence that Ravi showed any signs of bullying in his past or hating homosexuals or hating any other group, so I think that was important,” he said.
While both Ravi’s and Clementi’s parents accused the other side of trying to demonize their sons, Fahy said he believed both the defense attorneys and the prosecutors were fair in their handling of the case.
Fahy said Ravi’s parents’ pleas to the judge were effective, although he disagreed with their decision to hold a protest prior to the sentencing.
Ravi showed emotion during his mother’s statement at the sentencing, but didn’t address the Clementi family, which Fahy found surprising. “Almost always the defendant is given an opportunity to speak and the defendant makes some comments,” he said. “I was very surprised that Ravi made no comments today.”
While Fahy said the reason behind Ravi’s silence could be because of its effect on an appeal, he said a simple statement could have helped him. “All he had to say was, ‘I know I caused a lot of pain by my actions to the Clemetni family. I’m very, very sorry for that and I wish I could change things.’ If he just made those three or four sentences, I think it would have showed remorse and I think it would’ve helped,” Fahy said.
Both the prosecution and the defense want a stay of the sentence. “It’s very unusual for a judge to give 30 days as a sentence for a second degree offense so the prosecution wants it to be stricter and the defense is really fighting on the lines of any felony conviction causes deportation,” Fahy said. “They want to make sure Ravi doesn’t get deported.”
Fahy said there is a strong possibility that Ravi could still get deported. “The judge said he would recommend against it. The judge has no power. This is the feds,” he explained. “The president could stop it but a judge in the state of New Jersey does not stop ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] or the Immigration Services from deporting someone.”
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