# Woman On Trial For Texts 'driving Boyfriend To Suicide'



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 8, 2017)

*Woman on trial for texts 'driving boyfriend to suicide'*









Image copyrightWCVB
Image captionMichelle Carter, 20, is being tried in juvenile court
A 20-year-old US woman, whose boyfriend took his own life nearly three years ago, has gone on trial for allegedly urging him to kill himself.

Michelle Carter is charged with involuntary manslaughter for her role in the suicide of Conrad Roy III.

Prosecutors allege Ms Carter drove the Massachusetts 18-year-old to his death to attract sympathy.

She has asked a judge to rule on the case, rather than a jury of her peers.

"You need to do it, Conrad," Ms Carter texted him on the morning of 12 July, according to records presented by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.

"You're ready and prepared. All you have to do is turn the generator on and you will be free and happy," she wrote.






Image copyrightWCVB
Image captionMr Roy had been due to attend university in the autumn
She told him in another message: "You're finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. It's okay to be scared and it's normal. I mean, you're about to die."

As he expressed doubts, she kept pushing.

"I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready … just do it babe," she said.

"No more pushing it off. No more waiting," she went on.

Mr Roy was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning in his vehicle at a Kmart car park in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, on 13 July 2014.

Texts show he wavered in his plan to follow through with the suicide, at one point getting out of his pick-up truck.

The court heard that Ms Carter, who was then 17, replied: "Get the f*** back in the car."

After his death, she fundraised for mental health awareness and led a charity softball event in his honour.






Image copyrightFACEBOOK
Image captionMs Carter reportedly texted Mr Roy that his parents would "get over" his suicide
Mr Roy's mother, Lynn Roy, told the court on Tuesday she had no warning of her son's suicide.

She said: "I thought he was a little depressed."

On the day of his death, Mr Roy went to the seaside in Westport, Massachusetts, with his mother and sisters, according to prosecutors.

He bought his sisters ice cream, joked about bathing suits and spoke of a scholarship he had just won, while making other plans for the future.

Ms Carter sent texts to Mrs Roy after her son's death, telling her that his spirit lived on.

One text read: "I loved him, Lynn. I know I'm young, but I saw the rest of my life with him."


As arguments began on Tuesday, images of his text exchanges with Ms Carter were broadcast on the courtroom wall.

"She used Conrad as a pawn," said Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn, adding that the accused had wanted to gain attention as the "grieving girlfriend".

"She talked him out of his doubts point-by-point, assured him that his family would understand why he did it, researched logistics and reassured him that he was likely to succeed, and pushed him to stop procrastinating and get on with it, mocking his hesitation," said the prosecutor.

Lawyers had requested the case be dismissed on the grounds of right to free speech.

But a juvenile court judge ruled that encouraging suicide was not protected under the US constitution.

Defence lawyer Joseph Cataldo argued that Mr Roy had been motivated to kill himself for some time, and that his depression was spurred by family troubles.

He told the court that Ms Carter had previously talked her boyfriend out of suicide attempts.

Recently unsealed documents show Mr Roy attempted to take his own life several times before, and had spent time researching methods online.

Defence lawyer Mr Cataldo said in court: "My heart goes out to the family, but this was a young man who planned this for months and months".

According to local media reports, Ms Carter had also texted Mr Roy that his parents would "get over" his suicide.

"You've hit that point and I think your parents know you've hit that point," the accused texted. "You said your mom saw a suicide thing on your computer and she didn't say anything. I think she knows it's on your mind and she's prepared for it."

She added: "They will always carry you in their hearts."

Mr Roy replied: "Aww. Thank you, Michelle."

*Where to get help*
If you are depressed and need to ask for help, there's advice on who to contact at BBC


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## DarkJoy (Jun 8, 2017)

Evil 

this isnt the 1st ww we had a thread on that convinced her man to kill himself. whats up with these crazy broads.


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## Jasmataz (Jun 8, 2017)

> You said your mom saw a suicide thing on your computer and she didn'tsay anything. *I think she knows it's on your mind and she's prepared for it*."



This would've sent me over the edge if I were his mother.


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## Everything Zen (Jun 8, 2017)

Interesting how she's being tried as a juvenile...


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## bellatiamarie (Jun 8, 2017)

White women are manipulative and dangerous.


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## Brwnbeauti (Jun 8, 2017)

She's 20. 
Privilege


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## IronButterfly (Jun 8, 2017)

Well, mom had a chance to intervene since she thought he was a little depressed, but didn't.  She left the field open for this other dingbat to step in and do her thing.  Parents stay ignoring signs their kids send out, then act all surprised when they kill themselves.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 8, 2017)

Everything Zen said:


> Interesting how she's being tried as a juvenile...


She was 17 when she did it, I guess that's why...


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## toaster (Jun 8, 2017)

This girl was texting him details! Saying where to go, how long to sit in the car, telling him to get back in the car. It was like she googled carbon monoxide suicide and was his personal ask Jeeves.


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## KimPossibli (Jun 8, 2017)

If I was his mother... she wouldn't have gotten the chance to stand trial...


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## BackToMyRoots (Jun 8, 2017)

This psycho reminds of Alicia Silverstone in the Crush.


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## Kanky (Jun 8, 2017)

She's a horrible person and now everyone knows it. That has to be especially hard for someone who wanted sympathy and positive attention badly enough to do this. I hope that she is convicted but even if she isn't I'm glad that there is a spotlight on her evil ways and that this will follow her for the rest of her life.


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## Keen (Jun 8, 2017)

toaster said:


> This girl was texting him details! Saying where to go, how long to sit in the car, telling him to get back in the car. It was like she googled carbon monoxide suicide and was his personal ask Jeeves.


Telling him to get back in the car when he couldn't go through with it!!!


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## LdyKamz (Jun 8, 2017)

DarkJoy said:


> Evil
> 
> this isnt the 1st ww we had a thread on that convinced her man to kill himself. whats up with these crazy broads.


You mean this isn't the same case? Wow. I'd like to hear her attorney's case other than "he was prepared for it" because that's not really a defense...is it?


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## Everything Zen (Jun 8, 2017)

KCcurly said:


> She was 17 when she did it, I guess that's why...



I'm referring to the statistic on how black youth are more likely to be tried as adults as young as age 14 when this sociopath gets a pass and it was obvious that she knew what she was doing. I wonder if they even attempted to charge her as an adult.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/minors-tried-adults-black-hispanic-wnyc/


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 8, 2017)

Everything Zen said:


> I'm referring to the statistic on how black youth are more likely to be tried as adults as young as age 14 when this sociopath gets a pass and it was obvious that she knew what she was doing. I wonder if they even attempted to charge her as an adult.
> 
> http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/minors-tried-adults-black-hispanic-wnyc/



Oh yes ma'am I know about that. I was just saying, that's probably the excuse that they are using to give her some leniency when she deserves none. There were some black 17 year olds in my area that stole a car with a child in it, ended up killing the child. They are being charged as adults, there was no question. I have often wondered how things would've been if the killers had been white.


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## nysister (Jun 8, 2017)

DarkJoy said:


> Evil
> 
> this isnt the 1st ww we had a thread on that convinced her man to kill himself. whats up with these crazy broads.



Are you referring to the one a couple of years ago regarding the teenagers? If so this is the same evil trick. Just older and more despicable.


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## nysister (Jun 8, 2017)

Everything Zen said:


> I'm referring to the statistic on how black youth are more likely to be tried as adults as young as age 14 when this sociopath gets a pass and it was obvious that she knew what she was doing. I wonder if they even attempted to charge her as an adult.
> 
> http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/minors-tried-adults-black-hispanic-wnyc/



EXACTLY! She was 17!!! And is now 20. In both cases more than old enough to be charged as an adult for doing such a heinous thing.


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## Farida (Jun 8, 2017)

That's why she chose a bench trial...she knew better than to leave this in the hands of a jury.


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## JewelleNY (Jun 8, 2017)

Wow!! What a mindset!  I am working with someone right now who is so terribly "on the edge" and it worries me day and night.  And I'm not even a loved one.  I can't imagine doing something like that.  She sounds like a sociopath.


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## kimpaur (Jun 8, 2017)

KCcurly said:


> After his death, she fundraised for mental health awareness and led a charity softball event in his honour.
> 
> ......
> 
> ...



Truly a Sociopath


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## doriannc (Jun 8, 2017)

Tbh, I thought her defense was going to be about an abusive relationship or something plausible. She basically convinced him to kill himself simple because she could. Ugh smh


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## Everything Zen (Jun 8, 2017)

Who TF tells someone to get back in a death trap when they decide to back out?!


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## MzLady78 (Jun 8, 2017)

.....


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## Zaynab (Jun 8, 2017)

Reason #4788433 I teach my boys to stay away from white girls. They're cunning and conniving and always play victim. Typical.


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## aquajoyice (Jun 10, 2017)

She convinced him to commit suicide then "After his death, she fundraised for mental health awareness and led a charity softball event in his honour.". This is a special kind of evil and she was only 17 at the time?! She needs to be locked up for ever.


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## FlowerHair (Jun 10, 2017)

Evil personified.


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## Saravana (Jun 10, 2017)

This demon was charged with "involuntary manslaughter for her role in the suicide of Conrad Roy III."   There was nothing involuntary about what she did. 

That's some white blonde privilege bs. She will be out in a few years.


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## BK Bombshell (Jun 10, 2017)

She's a psychopath and if she's released at any point, I feel sorry for anyone who crosses her path. Some people don't deserve second chances.


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## nathansgirl1908 (Jun 10, 2017)

This case is still going on?  I thought they had finally dropped everything.

Glad she's getting a bench trial. This is not a trial to trust to a jury.    People would be too emotional.
The only reason she was even charged was because the prosecutor had ties to the young man's family. As horrible as it is that she said these things to him, ultimately he is the one who decided to kill himself. She shouldn't have been charged and shouldn't be convicted.   Taking emotions out of it, he had been thinking about this for months. And she didn't force him.    I just don't see where she has culpability in this.


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## shanelallyn30 (Jun 10, 2017)

aquajoyice said:


> She convinced him to commit suicide then "After his death, she fundraised for mental health awareness and led a charity softball event in his honour.". This is a special kind of evil and she was only 17 at the time?! She needs to be locked up for ever.




OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS???


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## DarkJoy (Jun 10, 2017)

they should sterilize her in prison. imagine the damage she would do to her children. If they survive to adulthood. And if they do make it imagine if that ish is genetic. there could be a whole brood of monsters just like her ...


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## HappilyLiberal (Jun 12, 2017)

KCcurly said:


> Oh yes ma'am I know about that. I was just saying, that's probably the excuse that they are using to give her some leniency when she deserves none. There were some black 17 year olds in my area that stole a car with a child in it, ended up killing the child. They are being charged as adults, there was no question. I have often wondered how things would've been if the killers had been white.



Those negrums deserve the death penalty.  They shot that child in cold blood!


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## MissNina (Jun 12, 2017)

nathansgirl1908 said:


> This case is still going on?  I thought they had finally dropped everything.
> 
> Glad she's getting a bench trial. This is not a trial to trust to a jury.    People would be too emotional.
> The only reason she was even charged was because the prosecutor had ties to the young man's family. As horrible as it is that she said these things to him, ultimately he is the one who decided to kill himself. She shouldn't have been charged and shouldn't be convicted.   Taking emotions out of it, he had been thinking about this for months. And she didn't force him.    I just don't see where she has culpability in this.



Lol Girl...you can't go personally giving a man encouragement & details on how to kill a specific person, even if it's himself. This case is basically assisted suicide, IMO, which is illegal in most states anyway.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 12, 2017)

HappilyLiberal said:


> Those negrums deserve the death penalty.  They shot that child in cold blood!



I know, it's terrible. I don't see how anyone could do that to an innocent baby. All they had to do was let him off on the side of the road somewhere.


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## SurferBabe (Jun 12, 2017)

Question for the parents of teens: Do you all monitor their texts and social media activities?


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## irisak (Jun 13, 2017)

SurferBabe said:


> Question for the parents of teens: Do you all monitor their texts and social media activities?


I do. I'm actually signed into my son's facebook messenger right now. Texts are more difficult though.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 13, 2017)

A coworker of mine had a way to see all of her kids texts on her own phone. She was complaining because there were so many duck faces etc. This was when her daughter was 13. I don't know if she still does it.


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## Mrs. Verde (Jun 13, 2017)

KCcurly said:


> A coworker of mine had a way to see all of her kids texts on her own phone. She was complaining because there were so many duck faces etc. This was when her daughter was 13. I don't know if she still does it.


She probably has some type of spy application loaded on the phone. There are a lot apps out there for parents to monitor their kids devices.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 13, 2017)

She's blaming what she did on antidepressants. 

*Woman in texting suicide case 'intoxicated' by antidepressants, doctor says *
By Jay Croft and Natisha Lance, CNN



Updated 1:57 AM ET, Tue June 13, 2017 











tles
*
Story highlights*

Michelle Carter was delusional after switching to a new prescription drug, doctor testifies
Prosecutors have argued Carter nudged Roy toward suicide via numerous text messages

Taunton, Massachusetts (CNN)A woman on trial for urging her boyfriend to kill himself was delusional after becoming "involuntarily intoxicated" by antidepressants, a psychiatrist said Monday.

Michelle Carter "was unable to form intent" after switching to a new prescription drug only weeks before her boyfriend committed suicide in July 2014, Dr. Peter Breggin testified. She even texted his phone for weeks after he died, Breggin said.
Carter, 20, is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Conrad Roy III, who was 18 when he poisoned himself by inhaling carbon monoxide in his pickup truck.


Prosecutors have argued that while Carter played the role of a loving and distraught girlfriend, she had secretly nudged Roy toward suicide by sending him numerous text messages encouraging him to take his own life.
Prosecutors say the texts prove Carter badgered Roy to his death. But defense attorneys argue he already was intent on killing himself and that Carter had urged him to get help.
Legal experts are watching the trial closely because it could set a legal precedent on whether it is a crime to tell someone to commit suicide.





Defense attorney Joseph Cataldo talks to his client, Michelle Carter, in court.
*A switch in drugs*
Breggin, testifying for the defense, said that Carter had no nefarious intent but genuinely thought she was helping Roy. She had been on Prozac for years before switching to another antidepressant, Celexa, in April 2014 -- three months before Roy's death, Breggin said.
Such drugs can impair judgment, wisdom, understanding, love and empathy, he said -- especially in the adolescent brain, which is still developing and is "more susceptible to harm and all intrusions." 
At the time of Roy's death, Carter was 17.
Breggin, who did not treat Carter, told Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz that he reached his conclusions after reviewing Carter's educational records, text messages and police files and interviewed a half-dozen people who knew her.
Carter is being tried as a youth because she was a minor when her alleged crime took place. She waived her right to a jury trial, so the judge will render a verdict after testimony concludes.
Before age 12, Carter had seemed to be loving, caring and helpful. But as a teen she became "a very troubled youngster," Breggin said.
Carter began taking Prozac in 2011, when she was 14, after developing anorexia, Breggin said. She later transitioned to Celexa, which he said can increase suicide risk in people younger than 24 along with agitation, panic attacks, grandiosity and not understanding the trouble one is getting into. 
Adverse changes also can occur when doses change, Breggin said.
Breggin testified that Carter began cutting herself between April and June of 2014. 





Dr. Peter Breggin uses a whiteboard to illustrate a point Monday at Michelle Carter's trial.
*'My life's a joke'*
Roy's body was found July 13, 2014, a day after his suicide in his parked truck in a Kmart parking lot in Fairhaven, nearly 40 miles from his home.
As early as October 2012, Roy told Carter he was going to kill himself and that there was nothing she could do to stop him, Breggin said. The psychiatrist said Roy made four suicide attempts before succeeding.
Over the course of many texts to Carter about depression and hopelessness, Roy spoke often of killing himself and going to heaven, Breggin said. 
Roy believed he had seen the devil at a hospital, and Carter said she had dreamed of the devil, said Breggin, who added that nightmares are common among people who are on Prozac.
"My life's an abortion," the young man told Carter in a text, Breggin said. "I just feel like my life's a joke. My negative thoughts have controlled me to the point where I'm legit going insane."
Roy suggested the pair should end up like Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's suicidal young lovers, and believed they would still be able to communicate after death, Breggin said.
Breggin said his clinical analysis was that Carter would do anything to help Roy and was always cheering him up. Meanwhile, Roy provided little encouragement and was negative about dating and marrying her, Breggin said.
The texts that led up to teen's suicide: Read them here
*'Enmeshed in a delusion'?*
On Celexa, Breggin said, Carter became "involuntarily intoxicated" and began to think she could help Roy get what he wanted -- to die painlessly, to get to heaven and to help his family grieve less by understanding him. 
"She is not forming the criminal intent -- 'I'm gonna harm him,'" Breggin said. "She's found a way to use her unique power to help and to help this boyfriend -- in her mind but not in his -- to not keep making mistakes and not keep hurting himself."
Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn said last week that when Roy had second thoughts that fateful night, Carter told him to get back in the truck and listened on the phone while he cried out in pain and took his last breaths.
"She was enmeshed in a delusion," Breggin testified. "She was unable to form intent because she was so grandiose." 
Breggin also reviewed a letter that Roy left for Carter. It said Roy was expecting to reach heaven, that he loved her, and that he thanked her for her kindness. In the letter he didn't say anything about being bullied.
A day after Roy's suicide Carter texted him, saying: "Did you do something??! Conrad I love you so much please tell me this is a joke. I'm so sorry I didn't think you were being serious Conrad please don't leave us like this," according to the text shown in court. 
Two months later, Carter also texted Roy to say that she had raised $2,300 through a softball tournament to raise awareness of mental health issues.
"She imagines him looking down upon her," Breggin said.
*Prosecutor: Carter was untruthful*
During cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Katie Rayburn tried to paint Carter as an untruthful person who craved attention.
Rayburn said Carter had routine medical checkups but doctors never noted on her medical records that she was cutting herself.
Rayburn said Breggin used text messages to conclude Carter was cutting herself.
The prosecutor said Carter was sending simultaneous messages of distress to a friend named Lisa and innocuous messages to boy she liked named Luke.
In the text message exchange, which Rayburn read out loud, Carter texted Lisa: "completely lost control tonight and I'm really disappointed in myself I thought I was getting better." Moments later, she texted Luke to say: "I'm bored as hell. You?" 
In another message to Lisa, Carter wrote that she couldn't stop shaking because she "cut way too deep it won't stop bleeding."
The prosecutor said Carter's mother also never reported any concerns about the cutting.
Breggin said people who cut themselves are very secretive and learn how to conceal it.
Rayburn also tried to pin Breggin down on the exact period of involuntary intoxication. Breggin said it started between June 29 and July 2, 2014, but he wasn't clear when it ended.
On July 15, 2014, Rayburn said Carter met with a therapist, who did not indicate that Carter had any symptoms of involuntary intoxication.
Natisha Lance reported from Taunton, Massachusetts, and Jay Croft reported and wrote from Atlanta.


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## OhTall1 (Jun 16, 2017)

She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter


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## Kanky (Jun 16, 2017)

OhTall1 said:


> She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter


While I want her to be punished this is still kind of crazy to me. Involuntary manslaughter for speech?


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## 1QTPie (Jun 16, 2017)

I wonder if she'll do any time.


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## Keen (Jun 16, 2017)

1QTPie said:


> I wonder if she'll do any time.


She needs to.


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## MzLady78 (Jun 17, 2017)

nathansgirl1908 said:


> This case is still going on?  I thought they had finally dropped everything.
> 
> Glad she's getting a bench trial. This is not a trial to trust to a jury.    People would be too emotional.
> The only reason she was even charged was because the prosecutor had ties to the young man's family. As horrible as it is that she said these things to him, ultimately he is the one who decided to kill himself. *She shouldn't have been charged and shouldn't be convicted. *  Taking emotions out of it, he had been thinking about this for months. And she didn't force him.    I just don't see where she has culpability in this.



I totally agree with you, and I think this verdict sets a bad precedent. 

I really can't stand this culture of nobody being responsible for their own actions.


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## NijaG (Jun 17, 2017)

^^^

She deserves some sort of punishment.

My understanding is the guy tried to stop the process at one point and she encouraged him to continue.   

This guy was in a mentally fragile state of mind and instead of alerting someone to help or at worse ignore him, she was egging him on. 

Bully and/or emotional abuser, I don't know. But she is something and took advantage of a mentally vulnerable person.


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## ava2 (Jun 17, 2017)

wow.


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## MizzKutieQ (Jun 17, 2017)

This is no different from mental abuse. If someone mentally abused a woman  and she got to the point where she killed herself due to the abuse, they would hold the abuser responsible, because had she not have gone through the abuse she most likely would've been alive. Just because she didn't kill him herself doesn't take away the fact that she was mentally manipulating him which is basically mental abuse.


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## FelaShrine (Jun 17, 2017)

nathansgirl1908 said:


> This case is still going on?  I thought they had finally dropped everything.
> 
> Glad she's getting a bench trial. This is not a trial to trust to a jury.    People would be too emotional.
> The only reason she was even charged was because the prosecutor had ties to the young man's family. As horrible as it is that she said these things to him, ultimately he is the one who decided to kill himself. She shouldn't have been charged and shouldn't be convicted.   Taking emotions out of it, he had been thinking about this for months. And she didn't force him.    I just don't see where she has culpability in this.



You know when I first heard this story I was like so she literally said jump off the bridge and he did it anyway. whatever tis is stupid

then I read her texts and wooowwwwww..yea Im glad she got caught and was found guilty. She looks like a lunatic anyway and shouldn't be around normal people.


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## Farida (Jun 17, 2017)

Kanky said:


> While I want her to be punished this is still kind of crazy to me. Involuntary manslaughter for speech?



I felt that way until I read her texts. She knew the guy was depressed, tortured by a mental illness. He trusted her and leaned on her. When he had second thoughts and fears about going through with his plan she TOLD him to get back in the car and finish the job. She talked him out of every single objection he had. Her jurisdiction defines the standard as "reckless and wanton." I believe the entirety of her texts meets the standard.

And after the facts she text her friend saying how she told him to "f*****king get back in the car. 

The fact that she knew he was hopelessly depressed makes it worse IMO.

Maybe she was overwhelmed by him and wanted out but she could've told her parents, called 911, filed a restraining order.


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## yardyspice (Jun 17, 2017)

A lot of women are going to be prosecuted for these kinds of cyber bullying. Watch.


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## kimpaur (Jun 17, 2017)

I read somewhere that the judge said he would have thrown the case out except,  there was literally a point where the gas was engulfing the vehicle and _he texted her, saying he was afraid and getting out. She literally told him to get back in and finish the job. _
She deserves what she got.


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## OhTall1 (Aug 3, 2017)

Sentencing was today

* Woman who sent texts urging suicide gets 15 months in jail *




Associated Press
By DENISE LAVOIE, AP Legal Affairs Writer  1 hr ago
































Michelle Carter awaits her sentencing in a courtoom in Taunton, Mass., Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, for involuntary manslaughter for encouraging Conrad Roy III to kill himself in July 2014. (Matt West/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)


TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) - A woman who encouraged her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself in dozens of text messages and told him to "get back in" a truck filled with toxic gas was sentenced Thursday to 15 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter.

Michelle Carter, now 20, was convicted in June by a judge who said her final instruction to Conrad Roy III caused his death. Carter was 17 when the 18-year-old Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in July 2014.

Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz gave Carter a 2½-year jail sentence but said she had to serve only 15 months of that. He also sentenced her to five years of probation. He granted a defense motion that would keep Carter out of jail until her appeals in Massachusetts courts are exhausted.

The judge called the case, which has garnered international attention, "a tragedy for two families."

Carter's lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, had asked the judge to spare his client any jail time and instead give her five years of probation and require her to receive mental health counseling. He said Carter was struggling with mental health issues of her own - bulimia, anorexia and depression - during the time she urged Roy to kill himself.

"Miss Carter will have to live with the consequences of this for the rest of her life," Cataldo said. "This was a horrible circumstance that she completely regrets."

Prosecutor Maryclare Flynn called probation "just not reasonable punishment" for her role in Roy's death. Prosecutors asked the judge to send Carter to state prison for seven to 12 years.




In dozens of text messages, Carter had urged Roy to follow through on his talk of taking his own life. "The time is right and you are ready ... just do it babe," Carter wrote in a text the day he killed himself.

The sensational trial was closely watched on social media, in part because of the insistent tone of Carter's text messages.

"You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't," Carter wrote in one text.

Cataldo argued that Roy was determined to kill himself and nothing Carter did could change that. He said Carter initially tried to talk Roy out of it and urged him to get professional help, but eventually went along with his plan. Cataldo also argued that Carter's words amounted to free speech protected by the First Amendment.

In convicting Carter, the judge focused his ruling on Carter telling Roy to "get back in" after he climbed out of his truck as it was filling with carbon monoxide and told her he was afraid.

The judge said those words constituted "wanton and reckless conduct" under the manslaughter statute.

Roy's family told the court Thursday that they were devastated by his death.

Conrad Roy Jr. said it inflicted the "worst emotional pain" he has ever experienced.

"I am heartbroken," the father said.

A 13-year-old sister, Camden Roy, testified that she's "haunted" by the realization that she'll never see her brother wed or be an aunt to his children.

Carter and Roy met in Florida in 2012 while both were on vacation with their families. After that, they only met in person a handful of times. Their relationship consisted mainly of texting.

Carter was tried as a youthful offender, so the judge had several options for sentencing. He could have committed her to a Department of Youth Services facility until she turns 21 on Aug. 11. He could also have combined a DYS commitment with an adult sentence, or could have given her an adult sentence of anything from probation to the maximum 20-year term.


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## Theresamonet (Aug 3, 2017)

People wanted the boys who watched the man drown to get the electric chair, but don't understand why this witch is getting 15 months?


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## natural2008 (Aug 3, 2017)

.


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## Proudpiscean (Aug 3, 2017)

Shameful.


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## tigereyes83 (Aug 3, 2017)

She should of gotten a heavier sentence.


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## OhTall1 (Jan 23, 2020)

Out already
Served a 15 month sentence and now she's out on probation for five years

*Michelle Carter, convicted in texting suicide case, freed from jail*
*By *Philip Marcelo






*Woman convicted in texting suicide case to be released*
Michelle Carter was convicted of manslaughter for urging her suicidal boyfriend, 18-year-old Conrad Roy III, to kill himself in 2014.

*BOSTON* - A woman convicted of manslaughter for urging her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself in text messages that included, "Just do it, babe," was released from jail Thursday.

Michelle Carter was released more than three months early from a county jail in Massachusetts, where she had been serving a 15-month sentence. The 23-year-old Plainville native accrued enough credits for good behavior and attending jail programs, according to officials. She now has to serve five years of probation.

Carter, wearing a white blazer and dark slacks, was spotted being driven out of the facility by her parents Thursday morning.

Her release comes after the U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear her lawyers' appeal of her involuntary manslaughter conviction in the 2014 death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III.

Carter's case garnered national attention as it raised thorny legal questions about free speech and provided a disturbing look at teenage relationships and depression. It also sparked legislative proposals in Massachusetts to criminalize suicide coercion.

A Massachusetts judge determined Carter, who was 17 at the time, caused the death of the 18-year-old Roy when she ordered him in a phone call to get back into his parked truck, which he'd rigged to fill up with deadly carbon monoxide.

The phone call wasn't recorded, but the judge relied on a text Carter sent her friend in which she said she told Roy to get back in. In text messages sent in the days leading up to Roy's death, Carter also encouraged him to follow through with his suicide plan and chastised him when he didn't.

Carter opted for a bench trial, an unusual legal strategy that meant a judge decided her fate rather than a jury. She also didn't testify in her defense at the trial.

The state's highest court upheld Carter's conviction last February and she was ordered to begin serving her jail sentence. She was denied parole in September.

“After she convinced him to get back into the carbon monoxide filled truck, she did absolutely nothing to help him: she did not call for help or tell him to get out of the truck as she listened to him choke and die,” Justice Scott Kafker wrote in the state Supreme Judicial Court's decision.

Carter and Roy both lived in Massachusetts but met in Florida in 2012 while both were on vacation with their families. Their relationship consisted mainly of texting and other electronic communications. Both teens struggled with depression, and Roy had made earlier suicide attempts.

Carter's lawyers argued in their Supreme Court appeal that the conviction should be thrown out because it was an “unprecedented” violation of their client's First Amendment rights that suggested “words alone” are enough to hold someone responsible for another person’s suicide.

*RELATED: Woman who encouraged suicidal boyfriend to take his own life appeals to Supreme Court*

The lawyers also argued there was simply not enough evidence to prove Carter urged Roy to get back in his truck to die, or that he would have lived if she had called for help or taken other actions to try and save his life.

A case strongly echoing Carter's, meanwhile, is playing out in a Boston court.

Prosecutors say former Boston College student Inyoung You drove her boyfriend Alexander Urtula to kill himself in a toxic relationship that included thousands of abusive text messages.

The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.


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## SpiritJunkie (Jan 25, 2020)

W PRIVILIGE


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## ThirdEyeBeauty (Jan 25, 2020)

Wow the power of words is real.  He must have been deeply ill to not block that deranged woman.


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