Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts teen who encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself through a series of encouraging texts, has finally received her sentence. Last month, the young woman was seen tanning and getting her nails done as she enjoyed the last few days of her freedom before she was to hear her sentence. She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after the jury reviewed the text messages she sent to her then-boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Within the messages, Michelle Carter knew her boyfriend was suicidal and told him that she wanted him to kill himself.
She stated that although his family would be sad for a while, they would eventually "get over it" and move on with their lives. Roy's mother has vehemently refuted that statement.
15 months behind bars
Carter was sentenced to 15 months behind bars today. Although she was under 18 when the crime occurred, she is still receiving the sentence like an adult.
"This court must and has balanced between rehabilitation, the promise that rehabilitation would work and a punishment for the actions that have occurred," the judge declared as he handed the sentence down to the young woman. Michelle Carter was close to tears for the majority of the hearing and held a tissue close to her mouth as the judge handed down her sentence.
Conrad Roy III's family speaks out
In some of the text messages, Carter makes it known that she is aware that he is troubled and is feeling very vulnerable, but she used that to her advantage by encouraging him to kill himself. At first, she did tell Conrad to seek help for his depression, but then later told him that the only way he could finally find peace would be to kill himself, as this would be a more permanent solution to the problem.
Roy's mother has already made a statement saying that she will never forget her son. His sister also took the stand today in court telling the judge that she goes to bed every night and wakes up every morning thinking of her brother. If it had not been for Michelle's encouragement, the family believes that Conrad would still be here today, despite the fact that he suffered from severe depression.
Some lawyers have worried that this curtails freedom of speech or that children will not be arrested for saying cruel things to one another via text message, as teenagers often do. However, the judge and jury felt that this case was exceptional and that Michelle had a role in Conrad's death.
