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The controversial conviction in 2017 of a teenager for urging her boyfriend to kill herself by texting and phone is again in front of the highest court in the state.
The Massachusetts Supreme Court justices heard arguments Thursday on the appeal of Michelle Carter's conviction for conviction for manslaughter for sending SMS to her 18-year-old boyfriend, Conrad Roy. encouraging to kill himself by boarding his truck filled with carbon monoxide.
His lawyers argued that prosecutors had not adequately proven that Carter, who was 17 at the time of Roy's death in 2014, is responsible for it.
Carter's lawyer, Daniel Marx, said the case raised many questions: about the definition of manslaughter – especially for underage accused; and on the freedom of expression and whether a person can be held responsible for the death of another person on the basis of words, especially in a state that does not have of so-called assisted suicide law prohibiting someone from committing suicide.
"I think the court is clearly facing a number of problems – factual issues at trial, statutory issues, constitutional problems," said Marx. "They understand that it's a complex issue, which is why almost every other state in the country has a law to deal with assisted suicide."
The judges asked Shoshana Stern, Marx County and Bristol County District Attorney, why any decision could affect assisted suicide cases. Stern said that it is likely that a high court ruling could affect a variety of cases in which someone knows or is involved in another person who will commit suicide. Marx said such questions should be answered by the legislature, not the courts.
"Can you tell an elderly parent with pancreatic cancer – one of the examples discussed – to take medications to sleep in? Can you go out and buy them?" Marx told the judges. "There are all sorts of complicated issues here that should be dealt with by the legislature with a law and should not be in the context of this very unusual and tragic situation."
Marx argued that Carter's admission that she had urged Roy to get into his truck had been sent by SMS to a friend two months after Roy's death, which is not sufficient evidence for a claim. conviction.
"The essential point of the case concerns the claim that she asked him to get on the truck," Marx told the judges. "None of the facts corroborate that."
Prosecutors say that confession by SMS to her friend is consistent with other evidence provided by a mobile phone.
Carter's lawyers also claimed that Lawrence Moniz, a juvenile court judge in his trial, "was wrongly convicted by Carter for reckless and irresponsible breach," said the Attorney General. he was killed and if help would arrive in time to prevent his death.
Marx also stated that Carter was as vulnerable as Roy and that she had left an inpatient mental health treatment just a few weeks before her death.
Carter, who was not in the courtroom on Thursday, was sentenced to 15 months in jail last summer, but she remained at large while she appeals herself on appeal. .
A dozen family and friends of Roy followed the proceedings.
This is the second time that the high court hears arguments about this case. In 2016, the SJC ruled that Carter could be tried for manslaughter. The judges stated that his "verbal conduct" was sufficient for an indictment.
The CJS has 130 days to issue a written opinion in this case.
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