Amanda Knox Says Michelle Carter Needs Sympathy
Amanda Knox, who was once accused of murder in a highly publicized trial in Italy way back in 2009, says that Michelle Carter, who has been convicted for the death of her boyfriend, needs sympathy and help instead of a prison sentence.
This week, 20-year-old Carter was reportedly sentenced to 15 months in prison and five years of probation for encouraging her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to kill himself. The incident happened in 2014 when she was only 17 years old and Roy was 18.
Not long after the sentencing, Los Angeles Times released an opinion editorial by Knox, wherein she criticized the involuntary manslaughter charges against Carter.
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"It's hard to feel sympathy for Carter, who was wrong to instruct Roy over the phone to get back into the truck in which he was poisoning himself with carbon monoxide," she wrote. "But involuntary manslaughter?" she asked.
Knox then proceeded to lay out examples of incidents that involve involuntary manslaughter, such as an innocent person dying as a result of a drunk driver crashing into another vehicle, a person shooting tin cans, or a carnival operator failing to secure all passengers.
According to her, while Carter may not be innocent for encouraging her boyfriend to push through with his suicide, she was apparently "wrongfully convicted" and that condemning the 20-year-old girl does nothing to prevent the mental health issues involved in the case.
Knox also talked about the instances where she thought about taking her own life when she was undergoing her trial in Italy, adding that all the criticisms being thrown at Carter will only push her to do more self-harm.
"Conrad Roy III needed our sympathy and our help and didn't get it in time," she said. "Michelle Carter deserves the same sympathy and help now," Knox went on to say.
According to BBC, Carter was supposed to face a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars, but her legal team was able to make an argument regarding her mental illness, as well as Roy's.
Roy was found dead inside his truck from carbon monoxide poisoning. The case became national news after their text message exchanges revealed that it was Carter who coerced him to do it.
Some of the texts read "You need to do it, Conrad" and "All you have to do is turn the generator on and you will be free and happy."
