Teen faces manslaughter charges in boyfriend's suicide over texts she sent him
There’s no law in Massachusetts against assisting someone else in committing suicide.
But prosecutors found another way to attempt to hold Michelle Carter accountable for allegedly encouraging another Massachusetts teenager to take his own life last year—they charged her with involuntary manslaughter.
Attorney Joseph Cataldo represents the now 18-year-old and says Carter only supported Conrad Roy III in his decision to commit suicide when she could not talk him out of doing so. He also cites her First Amendment rights, the Chicago Tribune (reg. req.) reports.
“He got the generator, he devised the plan and he had to go find a spot. He parked, he had to get the gas for the generator, he had to turn the generator on, he had to sit in that car for a long period of time. He caused his own death,” Cataldo said.
“He had thought this out. He wanted to take his own life. It’s sad, but it’s not manslaughter.”
But, supported by text messages Carter sent to Roy, 18, prosecutors see the case differently, the article reports. At some points Carter seemingly taunts him and urges him to “just do it.” However, she also previously encouraged him to get psychiatric treatment, the texts show.
“Causation is going to be a vital part of this case,” says law professor Daniel Medwed of Northeastern University. “Can the prosecution prove that she caused him to kill himself in this way? Would he have done it anyway?”
Although the two teens lived 50 miles apart and rarely saw each other, Carter reportedly considered him her boyfriend and the love of her life.
Headline revised Sept. 10.
