Reluctant justice! Girl whose texts drove her boyfriend, 18, to suicide is jailed; Michelle Carter given 15 months, allowed to stay out of jail, until ALL her appeals are exhausted
Massachusetts woman whose texts drove her boyfriend to suicide is jailed
Michelle Carter given 30 months after the victim’s father said she ‘exploited his son’s weaknesses and used him as a pawn’
Conrad Roy of Mattapoisett, Mass., killed himself on July 12, 2014
Roy, 18, took his own life after his girlfriend, Michelle Carter, encouraged him to
When Roy who was threatening to kill himself by carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck, wavered and exited the vehicle, Carter asked him to ‘get back in’
She didn’t call his parents or emergency help lines as he was dying
Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in June after his death in his own truck in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, in July 2014
Judge Lawrence Moniz ruled that her failure to act or call for help constituted wanton and reckless conduct, [that was contributory]
Carter was facing 20 years in prison, victim’s family was pushing for the maximum
Judge Moniz sentenced her to serve 15 months in prison Thursday, the rest the sentence was suspended
Carter will be on probation for five years once she is released
The judge granted a defense motion for an appeal that would keep Carter out of jail until her appeals in Massachusetts courts are exhausted
A weepy Michelle Carter [above] listens as she was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on Thursday after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month, in the death of Conrad Roy in 2014
A 20-year-old 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 was sentenced to prison on Thursday.
Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz said that Michelle Carter will only have to serve 15 months behind bars and the rest of the two-and-a-half years sentence will be suspended. Once she is released, she will be on probation for five years.
However, the judge granted a defense motion that would keep Carter out of jail until her appeals in Massachusetts courts are exhausted. Carter was convicted in June on a charge of involuntary manslaughter by Moniz who said her final instruction to Conrad Roy III caused his death.
Prior to the sentencing announcement, several family members of the victim provided heartbreaking statements that shared how much he is missed and called for Carter to be sentenced to the maximum 20-year prison term.
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Michelle Carter, 20, convicted in death of Conrad Roy – Guilty of involuntary manslaughter for sending suicidal boyfriend text messages encouraging him to kill himself
The victim’s father, Conrad Roy Jr., cried while reading his emotional statement to the judge.
‘We all felt he was heading in the right direction and over the worst of it,’ his father said of his son’s depression. ‘He had such a bright future and Michelle Carter exploited my son’s weaknesses.
‘She used him as a pawn and she has not shown any remorse. Where was her humanity? How he could she behave so viciously?’
Will only have to serve 15 months and the rest of the sentence will be suspended. Upon release, she will be on probation for five years. She was found guilty last month of involuntary manslaughter in the suicide of Conrad Roy III
Judge Moniz granted defense motion that would keep the convict out of jail until her appeals in Massachusetts courts are exhausted
Judge Lawrence Moniz: ‘I have not found that her age or level of maturity or even her mental illness, have any significant impact on her actions. She is bright young lady, did well In school’
Virtual killer’ Michelle Carter listens as the guilty verdict is read at Taunton District Court in Taunton, Mass.June 14
Sentencing: Carter [photo],during the sentencing hearing looking stoic, faced up to 20 year in prison for the crime, but got a soft landing, Thursday.
18-year-old Conrad Roy killed himself on July 12, 2014 with the active urging of his then girlfriend Michelle Carter, 17
Last month the judge who convicted Carter said her final instruction to Roy in text messages caused his death
‘I will never be an aunt to Conrad’s children, he was my best friend,’ his sister, Camden, told the judge while on the stand.
Carter was tried as a youthful offender, so the judge had several options for sentencing and could have committed her to a Department of Youth Services facility until she turns 21 on August 11.
The prosecution argued for a sentence of 7 to 12 years in prison, while her defense attorney, Joseph Cataldo asked to give her five years of probation.
The judge called the case, which has garnered international attention, ‘a tragedy for two families.’
‘The fact that [Carter is] still at that young age offers a greater promise of rehabilitation,’ Moniz said prior to issuing the sentence Thursday.
‘I have not found that her age or level of maturity or even her mental illness, have any significant impact on her actions. She is bright young lady, did well In school.
‘And I am satisfied that she was mindful of the actions she delivered.’
Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn said: ‘Michelle Carter – her actions – killed Conrad Roy. She ended his life to better her own. She has been convicted of a very serious crime that merits serious punishment.’
Carter’s parents David and Gail in court during sentencing, Thursday. She made ‘a tragic mistake’ David Carter said, describing his daughter’s actions before she was sentenced
Victim’s father [photo] cried while reading his impact statement – ‘He had such a bright future and Michelle Carter exploited my son’s weaknesses’
Several family members of the victim provided heartbreaking statements that shared how much Roy is missed and called for Michelle Carter to be sentenced to the maximum prison time of 20 years.
The victim’s father Conrad Roy Jr, cried while reading his emotional statement to the judge. ‘He had such a bright future and Michelle Carter exploited my son’s weaknesses’
A family’s agony: The victim’s mother, Lynn Roy [right] wept while her husband read his statement prior to Carter’s sentencing on Thursday
Victim’s sister, Camden: ‘I will never be an aunt to Conrad’s children, he was my best friend’
However, while Michelle Carter was found guilty in the teen texting suicide case, she was tried as a youthful offender, so the judge had several options for sentencing.
He could have also combined a DYS commitment with an adult sentence, or gave her an adult sentence of anything from probation to the maximum 20-year term.
Carter was 17 when the 18-year-old Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in July 2014.
In dozens of text messages, Carter urged Roy to follow through on his talk of taking his own life. ‘The time is right and you are ready … just do it babe,’ Carter wrote in a text the day he killed himself.
The sensational trial was closely watched on social media, in part because of the insistent tone of Carter’s text messages.
Tragic love! Carter [left] and Roy [right] both battled mental health issues.
While several members of the victim’s family including his aunt asked the judge to sentence Carter to the 20-year maximum. Carter’s father said his daughter made ‘a tragic mistake,’ and had asked for probation and continued counseling as a sentence
Roy’s suicide note addressed to Carter was introduced into evidence during the trial. Roy had thanked her for her ‘effort and kindness’
Conrad Roy III talks about social anxiety month before death. Both teens struggled with depression. Carter had been treated for anorexia, and Roy had made earlier suicide attempts. The texts exchanged by the teens shed light on the struggles, but then projected the influential role Carter played in carter’s ultimate commitment to end it all.
Gut wrenching for the families, a photograph of the truck in which Conrad Roy III killed himself was projected during testimony during the June trial
Carter’s lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, argued that Roy was determined to kill himself and nothing Carter did could change that.
He said Carter initially tried to talk Roy out of it and urged him to get professional help, but eventually went along with his plan.
Cataldo also argued that Carter’s words amounted to free speech protected by the First Amendment.
In convicting Carter, the judge focused his ruling on Carter telling Roy to ‘get back in’ after he climbed out of his truck as it was filling with carbon monoxide and told her he was afraid.
The judge said those words constituted ‘wanton and reckless conduct’ under the manslaughter statute.
Carter and Roy met in Florida in 2012 while both were on vacation with their families. After that, they only met in person a handful of times. Their relationship consisted mainly of texting.
Roy’s aunt, Kim Bozzi, asked the judge to sentence Carter to the 20-year maximum in her victim impact statement [above]
Roy’s aunt, Kim Bozzi, asked the judge to sentence Carter to the 20-year maximum in her victim impact statement. ‘Twenty years may seem extreme but it is still twenty more than Conrad will ever have,’ her statement reads.
‘I believe she should be kept far away from society. Take away the spotlight that she so desperately craves.’
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