Dharun Ravi's Mother Says Son 'Didn't Get Fair Trial' In Webcam Spy Case
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) --More than 100 people gathered for a rally Monday, demanding justice for Ex-Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, who spied on his roommate Tyler Clementi, who later committed suicide.
Ravi's mother, Sabitha Ravi, also spoke out publicly for the first time, saying her son "Didn't get [a] fair trial." She said her son is suffering after being convicted back in March.
"You all can understand what he's going through, how he is...whatever like people out there want to make him [out to be]," she told reporters, including CBS 2's Christine Sloan.
Friends and supporters of Ravi said Rutgers University should have handled the case and that the 20-year-old shouldn't have been tried using the bias statute, which they argue is confusing.
"He was found guilty for the victim's state of mind and that allows, in my opinion, a jury to bring in their own biases and their own beliefs," attorney Poonam Buchar said.
Ravi was found guilty of invasion of privacy and bias intimidation as a hate crime for using a webcam in September 2010 to spy on Clementi having an intimate encounter with another man.
Days after the spying took place, Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Ravi was not charged with causing Clementi's death.
The prosecution is demanding jail time for Ravi. Ultimately, the judge will decide his punishment. Ravi could get up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced next Monday. He turned down two plea deals before the trial.
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