TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) - The Latest on the manslaughter conviction of a Massachusetts woman who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself (all times local):
12:35 p.m.
A prosecutor says there are no winners or losers in the manslaughter conviction of a woman who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself.
Assistant district attorney Katie Rayburn tells reporters that both defendant Michelle Carter’s family and the family of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, “have been torn apart.”
Rayburn says she hopes Friday’s guilty verdict will bring some measure of closure to Roy’s family and friends.
Roy’s father, Conrad Roy Jr., said he is happy with the verdict but acknowledged: “This has been a very tough time for our family.”
A juvenile court judge convicted Carter of involuntary manslaughter in Roy’s 2014 death.
Carter had urged Roy to “get back in” his truck as it was filling with toxic gas.
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Noon
The American Civil Liberties Union has denounced as unconstitutional the manslaughter conviction of a woman who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself.
The ACLU’s Massachusetts chapter says in a statement that the conviction “exceeds the limits of our criminal laws and violates free speech protections guaranteed by the Massachusetts and U.S. Constitutions.”
A juvenile court judge on Friday found Michelle Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 death of Conrad Roy III.
The ACLU’s legal director for Massachusetts says Roy’s suicide is tragic, “but it is not a reason to stretch the boundaries of our criminal laws or abandon the protections of our constitution.”
Carter had urged Roy to “get back in” his truck as it was filling with toxic gas.
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11:50 a.m.
A Massachusetts woman who sent her boyfriend a barrage of text messages encouraging him to kill himself has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
A juvenile court judge found that Michelle Carter caused the death of Conrad Roy III. Carter cried as the judge explained his reasoning Friday.
Carter was 17 when she sent Roy dozens of messages urging him to take his own life. Eighteen-year-old Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck in Fairhaven in July 2014.
Prosecutors say Carter also told Roy to “get back in” when he got out of his truck.
Carter’s lawyer argued Roy had a history of depression and suicide attempts and was determined to end his own life.
Her sentence could range from probation to 20 years in prison.
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