TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) - The Latest on the sentencing of a woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter for sending her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself (all times local):
5:10 p.m.
A lawyer for a Massachusetts woman sentenced to 15 months in jail for urging her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself says he’s confident she eventually will be vindicated.
Twenty-year-old Michelle Carter was sentenced Thursday for involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 death of her 18-year-old boyfriend, Conrad Roy III.
The sentencing judge granted a defense motion to stay her sentence, meaning she will not have to go to jail until she exhausts her appeals in Massachusetts.
Carter’s attorney, Joseph Cataldo, told reporters he believes Carter will be cleared.
Cataldo said he will appeal Carter’s conviction by arguing that Carter did not break any law when she encouraged Roy to take his own life.
Cataldo said he believes her text messages to Roy amount to free speech protected by the First Amendment.
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3:30 p.m.
A judge says the woman who sent her boyfriend dozens of text messages urging him to kill himself won’t have to be jailed until her appeals in Massachusetts are exhausted.
Taunton Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz allowed Michelle Carter to return home after sentencing her Thursday to a 15-month jail term plus five years’ probation. Her lawyers had asked for the stay.
The judge ordered the 20-year-old Carter to stay away from the family of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III, who killed himself in 2014 by pumping toxic gas into his truck.
Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in June. Moniz ruled that Carter caused Roy’s death when she told him to “get back in” his truck as it was filling with carbon monoxide.
The judge called the case “a tragedy for two families.”
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3:10 p.m.
A Massachusetts woman who sent her boyfriend dozens of text messages urging him to kill himself has been sentenced to 15 months in jail on a manslaughter charge.
Michelle Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in June by a judge who said she caused the death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III when she told him to “get back in” his truck as it was filling with carbon monoxide.
Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz also sentenced Carter on Thursday to five years of probation.
Carter was 17 when Roy died in 2014.
During Carter’s trial, her lawyer argued that Roy was determined to kill himself and nothing Carter did could change that.
Carter faced a maximum sentence of 20 years.
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2:30 p.m.
A prosecutor has urged seven to 12 years’ imprisonment for a Massachusetts woman who sent numerous text messages urging her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself.
Michelle Carter’s lawyers asked for probation, but prosecutor Maryclare Flynn called that “just not reasonable punishment” for her role in the 2014 suicide of Conrad Roy III.
Carter was 17 when the 18-year-old Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck.
Flynn said Thursday that all Carter needed to do was ask Roy to leave the truck. Instead, she told him to “get back in.”
Carter’s lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, argued for probation, saying Carter doesn’t pose a danger to the public.
Carter clutched a tissue and had tears in her eyes as she awaited sentencing.
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This item has been corrected to show that prosecutors asked for a seven- to 12-year sentence, not a 20-year sentence.
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2:15 p.m.
Relatives of a young man who was encouraged by his girlfriend through text messages to kill himself say they’re haunted by his death.
Conrad Roy Jr. told a court Thursday that the death of his son, Conrad Roy III, inflicted the “worst emotional pain” he has ever experienced. The father says: “I am heartbroken.”
A teenage sister, Camden Roy, recalled the 13 years she spent with her brother and said she’s “haunted” by the realization that she’ll never see him wed or be an aunt to his children.
They spoke before the sentencing of Michelle Carter, who faces up to 20 years in prison on a conviction of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging Roy to kill himself in 2014.
Carter was 17 when the 18-year-old Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014.
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This item has been corrected to show that Camden Roy recalled the 13 years she spent with her older brother, not that she is 13 years old.
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9 a.m.
A Massachusetts woman who encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself in dozens of text messages and told him to “get back in” a truck filled with toxic gas faces up to 20 years in prison when a judge sentences her on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Michelle Carter was convicted by a judge who said her final instruction to Conrad Roy III caused his death. Carter will be sentenced Thursday.
Carter was 17 when the 18-year-old Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014.
Carter’s lawyer argued that Roy was determined to kill himself and nothing Carter did could change that.
Roy’s aunt has asked the judge to sentence Carter to the 20-year maximum. Carter’s father said his daughter made “a tragic mistake.” He’s asking for probation and continued counseling.
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