Michelle Carter Trial: Judge Finds Defendant Guilty; Manslaughter Law Extending to New Grounds?
The verdict for Michelle Carter's involuntary manslaughter trial is in; the court judge finds the defendant guilty. Meanwhile, some believe the ruling in Carter's case could be grounds to expand the territories of manslaughter law.
Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz gave the final verdict for Carter's involuntary manslaughter trial on Friday, New York Times reported. The court found Carter guilty of assisting her former boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to kill himself through carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carter will be sentenced on Aug. 3, and could receive 20 years to spend in prison.
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According to the judge, the basis for Carter's guilty verdict is the phone call that she had with Roy during his suicide attempt. When Roy got out of his truck and called Carter to express his fears, the defendant ordered him to get back in and listened to his painful death.
The basis of the verdict also includes the fact that Carter did not call for help upon learning that Roy was already in the process of killing himself.
Meanwhile, some believe the guilty verdict in Carter's involuntary manslaughter trial might be grounds to expand the territories under manslaughter law.
Matthew Segal, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said that the verdict was a "drastic expansion of criminal law in Massachusetts."
CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos said that the judge's verdict is concerning "because it reflects a judicial willingness to expand legal liability for another person's suicide, an act which by definition is a completely independent choice."
Daniel Medwed, professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University, questioned how Carter's actions led to involuntary manslaughter.
"Her behavior was so morally reprehensible, but I wasn't sure how, as a matter of law, it constituted as manslaughter," Medwed said.
Carter's defending counsel is expected to appeal the verdict of the judge.
