A family member of a Massachusetts teen who took his own life after being coerced via text messages from his girlfriend wants the woman to spend decades behind bars.
Michelle Carter, 20, could be sentenced on Thursday to little or no prison time for her role in the July 2014 suicide of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in June.
Carter faces up to 20 years in prison after prosecutors successfully painted the then 17-year-old as an attention-hungry teen, who craved playing the role of the grief-stricken girlfriend.
"I don’t believe she can be helped. I don’t believe she could even give one single f--- about what she’s done," Roy's aunt Kim Bozzi wrote in a statement to Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz. "I believe she should be kept far away from society. No Disney trips, graduations or proms she can bask in. Take away the spotlight that she so desperately craves. Twenty years may seem extreme but it is still twenty more than Conrad will ever have."
During the hearing, Roy's family spoke through tears, explaining how Carter's actions had impacted each of them, as they spoke before Moniz.
"Michelle Carter exploited my son's weakness and used him as a pawn ... the fact that my son was convinced to kill himself makes the pain harder. Where was her humanity? In what world was this behavior acceptable?" Conrad Roy Jr., Roy's father, told a packed courtroom on Thursday. He said Carter showed no remorse.
Prosecutors asked Moniz to sentence Carter to 7 to 12 years in prison. The defense asked for probation.
Was always in the air about how I felt on this one, but I will be curious to see what her sentence is. ---