Horrible: Student commits suicide after video of him making out with a guy leaked

[wuapinmon]

I'm sorry, but it is hard for me to show any sympathy to these two kids. This was not some normal prank.. We are talking about intimate actions between two people that possibly Clementi did not accept to be revealed to the world (His actions lead me in this direction..)... There is a BIG difference in taking a photo of your roommate on the can vs. secretly making a video of him with his partner.. It is much more insidious and hurtful then minimal embarrassment..

They should pay dearly for this.. Nothing imo.. Can justify their actions...

18 year olds are idiots. While there may have been malice, they are just kids, and I don't think throwing the book at them will do anyone any good. A civil case is punishment enough, because they are going to owe his estate pretty much everything they own or will own for the next decade.

I am very much on the side of mercy when it comes to teenagers. Good grief! I was so stupid back then.

[Coastal Ute]

They should pay dearly for this..

I'm almost sure they will. IMO the guilt and shame they'll have to carry around for the rest of their lives far supersedes any prison sentence.

[dabrockster]

18 year olds are idiots. While there may have been malice, they are just kids, and I don't think throwing the book at them will do anyone any good. A civil case is punishment enough, because they are going to owe his estate pretty much everything they own or will own for the next decade.

I am very much on the side of mercy when it comes to teenagers. Good grief! I was so stupid back then.

I guess I see a big difference between Stupid and Malicious..

Hell, I was stupid at that age. BUT.. We all know boundaries and this imo was way over the line of just being stupid...

A person is dead due to their actions. They may feel this guilt for the rest of their lives and some may think that is enough.. But I see this beyond just some stupid prank. It seems to go in the direction of bullying imo.. The roommate tried to tape him twice.. That is beyond just a prank...

Kaplan said the pair used the camera to view and transmit a live image of the student on Sept. 19.

Ravi has been charged with two additional counts of invasion of privacy for allegedly trying to transmit another encounter involving the same student on Sept. 21.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/charged_with_taping_rutgers_student_9G3XCTxdLoZ3VPJNyk8spO

After a week of I am sure pure humiliation and taunting the kid could not take it anymore and felt that not living was a better option.

[Surfah]

I guess I see a big difference between Stupid and Malicious..

Hell, I was stupid at that age. BUT.. We all know boundaries and this imo was way over the line of just being stupid...

A person is dead due to their actions. They may feel this guilt for the rest of their lives and some may think that is enough.. But I see this beyond just some stupid prank. It seems to go in the direction of bullying imo.. The roommate tried to tape him twice.. That is beyond just a prank...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/charged_with_taping_rutgers_student_9G3XCTxdLoZ3VPJNyk8spO

After a week of I am sure pure humiliation and taunting the kid could not take it anymore and felt that not living was a better option.

There was a viral video awhile back of a kid who videotaped his roommate masturbating to World of Warcraft. Had this kid decided to commit suicide because of the embarrassment do you think the roommate should have suffered the same fate? What if the Star Wars kid, whom I believe was deeply embarrassed over that video, had killed himself? Same penalty?

[Sizzle]

There was a viral video awhile back of a kid who videotaped his roommate masturbating to World of Warcraft. Had this kid decided to commit suicide because of the embarrassment do you think the roommate should have suffered the same fate? What if the Star Wars kid, whom I believe was deeply embarrassed over that video, had killed himself? Same penalty?

Likewise, what if they had caught him making out with his girlfriend and posted? Does the fact that it is a homosexual encounter change anything?

[dabrockster]

There was a viral video awhile back of a kid who videotaped his roommate masturbating to World of Warcraft. Had this kid decided to commit suicide because of the embarrassment do you think the roommate should have suffered the same fate? What if the Star Wars kid, whom I believe was deeply embarrassed over that video, had killed himself? Same penalty?

You cannot expect me to come to the same conclusion for each of those cases. Each case is different and intent should be considered. In this case, the student secretly video'd him, and was trying to do it a second time. He was moving beyond prank.. Again. imo...

Likewise, what if they had caught him making out with his girlfriend and posted? Does the fact that it is a homosexual encounter change anything?

I think the sexual act played a role in why this kid killed himself. I would like to know if his parents knew he was gay. If he had "outed" himself... I think this played a role on why he killed himself.. The idea of being forced out not on his own and facing all those realities of parents, friends, etc was too much for him to bare.. From my understanding such a proclamation is very personal and something taken seriously when they are ready to announce to the world they are gay..

Again, I do not know if he was "out" or not, but all of his actions and the interviews by friends etc is leading me in the direction that he was not "out"...

[Surfah]

I think this whole thing is unfortunate. But ultimately I believe that the kids should be prosecuted solely for the crimes with which they were charged. The suicide while tragic should not factor into the decision to prosecute or the severity of the punishment should they be convicted.

[Indy Coug]

I think this whole thing is unfortunate. But ultimately I believe that the kids should be prosecuted solely for the crimes with which they were charged. The suicide while tragic should not factor into the decision to prosecute or the severity of the punishment should they be convicted.

I tend to agree with this.

[wuapinmon]

I tend to agree with this.

That's because Surfah is rational and right about this. The civil case will be punishment enough for the kids. Surfah is absolutely correct in his assertion that the suicide is irrelevant to the criminal charges.

[dabrockster]

I think this whole thing is unfortunate. But ultimately I believe that the kids should be prosecuted solely for the crimes with which they were charged. The suicide while tragic should not factor into the decision to prosecute or the severity of the punishment should they be convicted.

I tend to agree with this.

That's because Surfah is rational and right about this. The civil case will be punishment enough for the kids. Surfah is absolutely correct in his assertion that the suicide is irrelevant to the criminal charges.

To All: Just to clarify, but where did you guys get the idea that I think they should be charged for his death??

I am pretty sure (After looking back) that I never said anything of the sort. I just said, I have no sympathy for them or mercy for them. I find them to be at fault for his death and should feel the guilt of their actions, and whatever punishment they get in the court of law..

I just have a major disagreement in the mercy side of this for these kids.

[Surfah]

To All: Just to clarify, but where did you guys get the idea that I think they should be charged for his death??

I am pretty sure (After looking back) that I never said anything of the sort. I just said, I have no sympathy for them or mercy for them. I find them to be at fault for his death and should feel the guilt of their actions, and whatever punishment they get in the court of law..

I just have a major disagreement in the mercy side of this for these kids.

Nobody did. But you're faulting these kids for this kid's death and think that they should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.

[All-American]

Invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress . . . yeah, there's plenty with which you can nail the kids.

[wuapinmon]

Invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress . . .

Can my kids sue me?

Me: Stand in the corner.
Jack: NO!
Me: Stand in the corner, or I'm going to put your recycling truck up on the shelf for a week.
Jack: (complete meltdown) I HATE YOU. I LOVE MAMI.

Does he have a case for intentional infliction?

[Art Vandelay]

There was a viral video awhile back of a kid who videotaped his roommate masturbating to World of Warcraft. Had this kid decided to commit suicide because of the embarrassment do you think the roommate should have suffered the same fate? What if the Star Wars kid, whom I believe was deeply embarrassed over that video, had killed himself? Same penalty?

Likewise, what if they had caught him making out with his girlfriend and posted? Does the fact that it is a homosexual encounter change anything?

I was discussing some of these things with my wife last night (not the WOW masturbating. I try and keep those thoughts private). If this was video of a hot or especially a famous girl and was leaked all over the internet. Wouldn't many insinuate she knew about it and wanted it seen. It seems that every few weeks I read about (yes I said read and not see) a celebrity sex tape. Can these truly be distributed without both partners consent?

I don't know if bullying is anymore prevalent than 20 or 50 years ago, but it certainly seems the facebook, twitter, texting, etc can make the ripple effect infinitely larger. I'm so glad I'm not a teenager nowadays and I'm nervous as I watch my kids try and walk the tightrope of middle and high school.

[dabrockster]

Nobody did. But you're faulting these kids for this kid's death and think that they should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.

I do blame them. Their actions is a direct result of his death. I am pretty sure that cannot be refuted..

But prosecuting them for his death. Again. Show me where I said that. The only place I said anything was "They should pay dearly".. No mention of what you just stated...

And, again, as stated before. I have a problem showing them mercy and chalking it up to "Stupid Kids"...