DEADLY TEXTS
Michelle Carter, the woman convicted of encouraging her suicidal lover’s death, freed from Massachusetts jail
MICHELLE Carter, the woman convicted of pushing her suicidal lover to kill himself, has been released from jail three months early.
The 23-year-old woman walked out of the county jail in Dartmouth, Massachusetts this morning around 9:30.
8
Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy and served about 10 months behind bars.
She had been sentenced to 15 months but got out early for good behavior.
She will now serve five years of probation.
Carter was 17 when her boyfriend, Roy, killed himself in 2014 by inhaling carbon monoxide while sitting inside his pickup truck.
8
Before he died, Roy got out of the truck, officials said.
Carter then called him and encouraged him to get back in, according to text messages she sent her friend.
A Massachusetts judge concluded Carter was responsible for Roy's death.
In the days leading up to Roy's death, Carter encouraged the suicidal teen to follow through with a suicide plan — and scolded him when he didn't go through with it.
Scott Kafker, a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, wrote in the court's decision that after Carter "convinced him to get back into the carbon monoxide filled truck, she did absolutely nothing to help him."
8
"She did not call for help or tell him to get out of the truck as she listened to him choke and die."
The state's highest court upheld Carter's conviction in February 2019 — and she was denied parole in September.
Carter chose a bench trial instead of a jury trial, which meant a judge decided her fate.
The 23-year-old also didn't testify in her defense during the trial.
8
8
Carter and Roy both lived in Massachusetts but the two met while vacationing in Florida in 2012.
Their relationship mainly consisted of text messaging or other electronic means of communication.
Both of them had struggled with depression — and Roy had previously tried to kill himself.
8
8
8
In their appeal to Massachusetts's Supreme Court, Carter's lawyers argued her conviction should be thrown out because it was an "unprecedented" violation of her First Amendment rights.
They said the conviction suggested "words alone" are enough to hold someone responsible for another person's suicide.
Carter's lawyers also argued there just wasn't enough evidence that Carter convinced Roy to get back into the truck to kill himself.
They also said there was not enough evidence proving Roy would have lived if Carter had called someone for help or tried to save his life.
A spokesman for Bristol County Sheriff’s Office recently said "there have been no problems" with Carter while in jail, and "she has been attending programs, which is common at state facilities like the Bristol County House of Correction."
“Ms. Carter continues to attend programs, is getting along with other inmates, is polite to our staff and volunteers, and we’ve had no discipline issues at all.”
MOST READ IN NEWS
Carter's case rings similar to the case of Inyoung You, a 21-year-old former Boston College student who prosecutors say convinced her boyfriend to commit suicide.
You , Alexander Urtula, more than 47,000 text messages during the last two months of their relationship urging him to "go kill yourself."
He died on May 20 of last year, the day of his graduation from Boston College.
You has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in his death.
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at [email protected] or call 212-416-4552.
Topics