# Woman found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in text/ suicide case **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 16, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122 "2017-06-16T15:42:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/1 "2017-06-16T15:42:46Z")
> **[Michelle Carter found guilty of manslaughter in texting-suicide case](https://whdh.com/news/michelle-carter-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-in-texting-suicide-case/)** > > TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) – A woman who sent her boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself when they were both teenagers... I was surprise the judge came up with this verdict , but I do feel it was the right one . How do others feel about this ? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/2 "2017-06-16T15:45:56Z")
Guilty. Right call. But you have to wonder where the boundary is from now on. If someone is depressed, and a bystander makes a snide remark that prompts them to jump off a cliff, is the bystander now guilty of manslaughter? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/3 "2017-06-16T15:49:15Z")
I think that the verdict is crap. Nobody is forced to read text messages. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/4 "2017-06-16T15:49:21Z")
If someone writes a book explaining this woman’s behavior, I would buy it. Were I the judge, I too would wait until August to do the sentencing. I would need quite a bit of time to get in the right frame of mind to find a fair and wise punishment. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/5 "2017-06-16T15:56:50Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Guilty. Right call. > > But you have to wonder where the boundary is from now on. If someone is depressed, and a bystander makes a snide remark that prompts them to jump off a cliff, is the bystander now guilty of manslaughter? I think she did more than make a snide comment. She actively egged him on and encouraged him when he was wavering not to kill himself. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/6 "2017-06-16T15:57:39Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Guilty. Right call. > > But you have to wonder where the boundary is from now on. If someone is depressed, and a bystander makes a snide remark that prompts them to jump off a cliff, is the bystander now guilty of manslaughter? I would think this wouldn’t count , b/c there is no way for a person to know what going on in a stranger’s mind. The woman in this case knew her b/f and instead of trying to stop him getting back into the truck she demanded him to get back in and listen him dies ! I am not sure this I put my thread in the right place . ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/7 "2017-06-16T16:04:19Z")
I don’t know how to evaluate her claimed psychiatric condition and the use of drugs for her obsessive texting behavior. With that aside she should be found guilty. Her actions implied intent. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/8 "2017-06-16T16:13:10Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I think that the verdict is crap. Nobody is forced to read text messages. Your views on culpability for convincing others to kill are duly noted, um, **manson**. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/9 "2017-06-16T16:14:34Z")
The one thing that I didn’t realize until reading the OP’s article was that these two people didn’t really spend a lot of time together. They met in Florida by coincidence while both were from Massachusetts but rarely ever saw each other with the bulk of their relationship being texts and emails through a long distance relationship. That’s not a real relationship, imho. So sad that Roy put so much credence on what she said. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/10 "2017-06-16T16:16:33Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Guilty. Right call. > > But you have to wonder where the boundary is from now on. If someone is depressed, and a bystander makes a snide remark that prompts them to jump off a cliff, is the bystander now guilty of manslaughter? I dont’ know about you, but I see a difference between a passing stranger being an asshat and someone known to and close to the suicide repeatedly encouraging them to kill themselves. > [@Slash1972](#): > > I think that the verdict is crap. Nobody is forced to read text messages. No one forced the woman to repeatedly text a suicidal person with encouragement to kill himself, and scolding him for attempting to back out. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/11 "2017-06-16T16:21:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I dont’ know about you, but I see a difference between a passing stranger being an asshat and someone known to and close to the suicide repeatedly encouraging them to kill themselves. > No one forced the woman to repeatedly text a suicidal person with encouragement to kill himself, and scolding him for attempting to back out. How was the scolding done? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/12 "2017-06-16T16:22:53Z")
I’m fine with the verdict. That said, I don’t think she should have to spend a lot of time in jail, if any. I think felony probation (10 years) would be a fitting sentence for her deeds. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/13 "2017-06-16T16:26:47Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > How was the scolding done? From the article: > [@](#): > > The judge noted that the 18-year-old Roy climbed out of the truck as it was filling with toxic gas and told Carter he was scared. “Get back in,” Carter told Roy, according to a friend who testified Carter described the conversation in a text message to her about a month after Roy died. > > “This court finds that instructing Mr. Roy to ‘get back in’ the truck constitutes wanton and reckless conduct by Ms. Carter,” the judge said. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/14 "2017-06-16T16:29:41Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > How was the scolding done? Did you actually bother to read the article? "The judge noted that the 18-year-old Roy climbed out of the truck as it was filling with toxic gas and told Carter he was scared. “Get back in,” Carter told Roy, " “This court finds that instructing Mr. Roy to ‘get back in’ the truck constitutes wanton and reckless conduct by Ms. Carter,” the judge said." It’s not just texts. Edumacate yourself before you post. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/15 "2017-06-16T16:36:57Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Did you actually bother to read the article? > > "The judge noted that the 18-year-old Roy climbed out of the truck as it was filling with toxic gas and told Carter he was scared. “Get back in,” Carter told Roy, " > > “This court finds that instructing Mr. Roy to ‘get back in’ the truck constitutes wanton and reckless conduct by Ms. Carter,” the judge said." > > It’s not just texts. Edumacate yourself before you post. So it’s your contention that she was physically present when he killed himself, and directly told him to “Get back in” his car? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/16 "2017-06-16T16:45:14Z")
No she wasn’t present, she communicated her insistence via text. It’s sad that he gave her thoughts and opinions so much weight. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/17 "2017-06-16T16:46:42Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I dont’ know about you, but I see a difference between a passing stranger being an asshat and someone known to and close to the suicide repeatedly encouraging them to kill themselves. > No one forced the woman to repeatedly text a suicidal person with encouragement to kill himself, and scolding him for attempting to back out. > [@ivylass](#): > > I think she did more than make a snide comment. She actively egged him on and encouraged him when he was wavering not to kill himself. > [@purplehearingaid](#): > > I would think this wouldn’t count , b/c there is no way for a person to know what going on in a stranger’s mind. The woman in this case knew her b/f and instead of trying to stop him getting back into the truck she demanded him to get back in and listen him dies ! I am not sure this I put my thread in the right place . Right, but a precedent has now been set - verbal words that lead to suicide, can lead to criminal liability. It wouldn’t take much to stretch that precedent in the future. Again, for the record, I think the conviction of this girl for manslaughter was the correct decision. But the precedent is a slippery one. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/18 "2017-06-16T16:46:48Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Your views on culpability for convincing others to kill are duly noted, um, **manson**. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/19 "2017-06-16T16:47:17Z")
I’m opposed to the verdict. What this woman did was reprehensible, but I don’t think people should be criminally accountable for this type of thing. Unless there happens to be a law specifically outlawing it, that is. Meaning, if there’s a law against convincing someone to do some criminal act, then that’s fine with me. But I don’t see this as being covered under a law against manslaughter. Or that egging someone else on to steal means that you stole, and so on. I think there have been other similar cases, in which people bullied other people online until they killed themselves. But I don’t recall the outcome of those cases. > [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > If someone writes a book explaining this woman’s behavior, I would buy it. My understanding is that she felt socially unsuccessful and intended to use sympathy from his death to get some craved social standing. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122/20 "2017-06-16T16:49:57Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > No she wasn’t present, she communicated her insistence via text. > > It’s sad that he gave her thoughts and opinions so much weight. So it’s like I said. No one is forced to read a text message. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-text-suicide-case/789122.md?page=2)