Posted on 09/30/2010 11:28:41 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
Gov. Chris Christie today called the suicide of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi an “unspeakable tragedy,” but said he would let Attorney General Paula Dow figure out how to prosecute the case against two fellow students accused of recording him in a sexual encounter.
“Well, first of all, as the father of a 17-year-old, I can’t imagine what those parents are feeling today – I can’t,” said Christie.
“You send your son to school to get an education with great hopes and aspirations.
Christie said his feeling on the case as a father “overwhelms whatever feelings I have as governor” and that he didn’t know how Ravi and Wei could sleep at night “knowing that they contributed to driving that young man to that alternative.”
The two have been charged with multiple counts of invasion of privacy.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
What difference does what make? That he engaged in an irrational act in response to a violation of his privacy?
Everything, he did not act in a rational or sane way.
I don’t know if wrongful death or involuntary manslaughter would stand as a matter of law or with a jury. But these kids did commit a felony. They did not consider any possible consequences other than their thrill and maybe Clementi’s shame. Nevertheless, someone died at least indirectly from their commission of a crime. Therefore, they are not entitled to any mercy or mitigation of the punishment for the crime they did commit.
If 5 years is the maximum penalty for the crime they did commit, I would have no problem if the evidence is as presented with giving them the full punishment under the law. Most drunk drivers do not intend to kill anyone. Nevertheless, people are killed and the drunk drivers go to prison for a very long time.
In this case, the two roommates knowingly committed a crime against this kid. The crime indirectly resulted in his death. There may have been other circumstances involved, but a direct connection between Crime A and Death B can be shown.
It is about personal responsibility- they may not have intended the results, but they chose to commit a crime that resulted in the kids death.
If a guy robs a liquor store and the store owner, so in fear for his life, dies of a heart attack, the robber is charged in his death. No, he didn't directly kill the guy, and there may have been other circumstances that contributed to his heart attack, however, Crime A can be directly associated with Death B.
Look at the recent case in Florida, did anybody express their anger at the Muslims that were threatening violence over the Koran burning? No, it was all reserved for the guy burning the Korans.
They may indeed. And if there is any semblance of rule of law applied, the first question would be "What was the cause of death?" The second question would be "Did the videotaping of the sexual encounter cause the victim to die?"
I believe in personal responsibility. I do not believe in purposeful and shameful violation of someone elses privacy.
The humiliation of having this on the web was just way over the top.
Nobody deserves to have this done to them.
Have you ever raised any teenagers?
What seems rational and sane to an adult hasn’t been a part of their life experience yet.
Their frontal lobes haven’t fully developed yet. I do speak in generalizations. All three of these teens are proof of my generalization.
The drinking, hooking, prat stunts, and cheating are not sane or rational either, yet it is endemic on college campuses.
We cannot even begin to imagine the inner heartbreak this family is going through. This is so totally sad and what the hell business is it of anyone else anyway? Who gave those two morons the right to hide a camera and film someone in a private moment? Then to call someone else so they would know as well? What is wrong with these two people. SOMETHING is wrong with them. This is not normal behavior. It is perverted. They were the cause of this bright young man leaving our world when he should have just been beginning his bright future. I will pray for his family and may this young fella be at peace in the arms of the Lord.
As for the two vile perpetrators...all I can say to them is what is done is done and cannot be taken back. I wonder how funny they think it is now that they destroyed a life, wrought heartache and grief on a family just because they thought it was fun to do what they did. God forgive them.
May Celenti’s soul rest in peace.
“He killed himself in part, because of actions they chose to do.”
You may believe that, but it is NOT a fact.
This is the sort of sensible question that nobody seems to be asking. The tape/broadcast seems like a cruel stunt, but unless this boy were already seriously unstable, I cannot imagine it would lead to his suicide.
While I applaud you for having the good sense to request such a thing...this would be a great opportunity to put the house bigots in their ugly place.
To all you "FRiends" who think homosexuality is a lifestyle choice...tantamount to choosing beer or wine with your meal? Your bigotry disgusts me.
But in this case, the heart attack occurred during the commission of the crime, and forensics can directly determine the increased stress level caused the attack. Can we really know what was in this kid's head?
Yes I have, and at 18 to decide to kill oneself over something like this is NOT sane or rational behavior even for a typical 18 year old.
Sorry, but I’m not buying into the, oh they are kids line of BS. Its hogwash, and nonsense.
It is tragic that this young man decided to kill himself, but I suspect there is FAR FAR more to the story than what the gay activist spin groups are using his death for. My suspicion is that he had other issues, diagnosed or perhaps swept under the rug.
I am not fully convinced that the straight line cause and effect that the lazy mainstream press has jumped on as an easy story is the whole story, and frankly because it serves a PR purpose for some groups, I doubt that the entire true story will ever be told.
“...there are many examples of stuff like this causing someone to kill themself.”
Correlation is not causation. If the bullying were causative, how to explain all the bullying that never leads to suicide?
You claim supreme knowledge that this would have happened if they had not broken the law and publically outed him?
oh good grief, there have been numerous examples of suicides of public humiliation
There is something missing in our kids today that they would even think of doing what they did. How on earth did they think that would be acceptable? The total lack of compassion is stunning. These kids are souless.
“You claim supreme knowledge ...”
Hardly. I’ll leave that to those who claim they know why the kid killed himself.
And what about the other boy he was with, did he choose to kill himself over this?
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