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BOSTON (AP) – A woman who encouraged her suicidal boyfriend to kill herself in her teenage years may have made bad choices but did not commit a crime, her lawyer said Thursday. highest court in Massachusetts.
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 found guilty of involuntary manslaughter during a lawsuit that caught the attention of the international community because of thorny legal issues and the insistent tone of his text messages addressed to his boyfriend .
The day Roy filled his carbon monoxide truck at a parking lot in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, then Carter, 17, sent him a text message: be that way if you do not take action. "
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.
Prosecutors said Carter had pushed Roy overboard, noting that he had already attempted suicide several times and had withdrawn.
Assistant Attorney Shosana Stern told the court that Carter knew that she had "considerable weight" on Roy and 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.
Carter was sentenced to 15 months in prison, but remained at large while she continues her appeal.
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.
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Follow Alanna Durkin Richer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher and read more of his work at http://bit.ly/2hIhzDb.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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