"Suicide by SMS" Case of Michelle Carter in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A woman who, in her teens, encouraged her suicidal boyfriend to kill herself may have made bad choices but did not commit a crime, her lawyer at the highest court in Massachusetts said Thursday . Lawyer Daniel Marx said Michelle Carter, now 22, was a misguided teenager struggling for her own problems and trying to help Conrad Roy III. He said Roy was determined to end his life and was responsible for his own death.

"We can all see in the SMS that Michelle Carter did not force Conrad Roy to kill himself," Marx told the Supreme Court of Justice. "It was a tragic decision that he took."

Carter was convicted of manslaughter at a trial last year, which caught the attention of the international community because of thorny legal issues and the insistent tone of his text messages to his boyfriend. "48 Hours" investigated the case in the episode "Death by text."

The day that Roy filled his carbon monoxide truck in a Fairhaven, Massachusetts, car park, Mr. Carter, then 17, texted him: it'll be like this if you do not take any measured. "

In convicting Carter, however, the judge insisted on the way she had told Roy to "come home" after he got out of his truck while he was refueling him. toxic essence and told him that he was scared. The judge stated that Carter had a duty to call the police or Roy's family when she knew he was committing suicide.

But the only evidence that Carter ordered Roy to get into the truck was a long, rambling text that she had sent to a friend two months later, in which she called Roy's death his fault, said Marx. He also said that there was no evidence that Roy's life would have been saved if Carter had called for help.

At the Carter trial in June 2017, a psychiatrist testified that Carter was also "very troubled" and at first tried to convince Roy to get out of it, but became convinced that she needed to help Roy "go to heaven" only after he was there. Was convinced that she could not do anything to stop it.

Prosecutors, however, say that Carter pushed Roy overboard, noting that he had already attempted suicide several times and had withdrawn.

Deputy District Attorney Shoshana Stern told the court that Carter knew that she had "considerable weight" on Roy and that she had become more insistent as he became more depressed. . On the day of his death, Carter threatened to ask for help if he did not execute his plan, Stern said.

"She knew that he was terrified of ending up at the hospital and disappointing his family," Stern said.

Prosecutors asserted at trial that Carter had pushed Roy to commit suicide because she was desperate to attract the attention and sympathy of her classmates and that she wanted to play the role from a girlfriend in mourning.

Carter was sentenced to 15 months in prison, but remained on probation while she continues her call. At the sentencing hearing that took place in August 2017, Roy's father, Conrad Roy Jr., described his son as "best friend" and "first mate."

"Although he had some psychological problems, we all felt that he was going in the right direction and in the worst," Roy said.

He added that Michelle Carter had not shown remorse and that she "had exploited my son's weaknesses and had used it as a pawn for his own well-being".

"Where is his humanity and in what world is this behavior correct and acceptable?" Roy said.

In an interview with "48 Hours" in June 2017, Lynn Roy, Roy's mother, said she did not believe Carter "had a conscience".

"I think she's to be held accountable for her actions because she knew exactly what she was doing and what she said," Roy told Erin Moriarty.

This is the second time that Carter's case is brought before the state's high court. In 2016, the court ruled that Carter had to stand trial, saying the grand jury was justified in charging him with manslaughter.

The court should rule in the coming months. When asked if they would appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court if the judges did not rule in favor of Carter, Joseph Cataldo, another of his lawyers, stated that they would consider all their options.