Words as Weapons: Legal Questions Arise in Texting Suicide Case

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview. 

In June, a Massachusetts judge found 20-year-old Michelle Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter, after her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, committed suicide in 2014. The judge said that Carter had shown “wanton and reckless conduct” when she repeatedly texted and called Roy telling him to kill himself.

In July 2014, Roy had filled his truck with carbon monoxide from a generator. When he left the cab with second thoughts, he texted and spoke on the phone with Carter, who told him "to get back in" the vehicle.

The conviction is not without precedent, but the lack of Carter’s physical presence raises questions about technology, causation, and the First Amendment.

Today, the same judge will sentence Carter. Daniel Medwed, WGBH legal analyst and a professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University, discusses the legal implications of the conviction.

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.