Massachusetts woman Michelle Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in June for text messages she sent encouraging her 18-year-old boyfriend Conrad Roy III to commit suicide, as reported by The New York Post. Carter faced up to twenty years in prison.
Conrad Roy III exited his vehicle after growing ill from inhalation of carbon monoxide fumes from his truck. Carter was 17 years old at the time of the incident, which took place in 2014. Roy, who was depressed and had previously attempted suicide, received messages from Carter egging him on to kill himself. “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. She also instructed Roy on how to commit suicide.
The pair's text message conversations touched on death and suicide in the days leading to Roy's death. "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," Carter wrote to Roy. "But I bet you’re gonna be like oh, it didn’t work because I didn’t tape the tube right or something like that."
Carter was sentenced on Thursday to two-and-a-half-years with 15 months in prison and the remaining time suspended with a period of supervised probation. Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz handed down the sentence.
The defense was hoping for five years probation and counseling while the prosecution was looking for a seven to twelve year prison sentence.
People took to Twitter to give their two cents. Most seemed not to be sympathetic to Carter.
