Michelle Carter – Guilty or Not? [OPINION]

We can all argue that it is crucial to provide help to those who cannot help themselves, whether that be mentally or physically. When we know someone is struggling, we should reach out to others for advice in order to offer help. It has been a huge debate whether Michelle Carter should be held responsible for her boyfriend’s death after allegedly convincing him to commit suicide.

On July 12^th, 2014, Michelle Carter’s long-distance boyfriend, Conrad Roy, got into his truck and drove to a secluded parking lot where he filled his car with carbon monoxide and eventually died from the fatal poisoning. Michelle and Roy met a couple years prior to his death through mutual friends where they exchanged numbers and became romantically involved. Roy had been struggling with depression for years and he confided in Carter, talking with her via text about his suicidal thoughts and not wanting to live with his own thoughts any longer.

Carter made it a point for a while to talk him off the ledge, telling him that he has so much worth and the world would be worse without him. After months and months of trying to talk him out of suicide, Carter allegedly began almost encouraging Roy to kill himself because she thought that is truly what he wanted, and she believed that he would be pain-free after doing so. However, she herself was struggling with her own mental issues. Despite the fact that she was also dealing with depression, how could she think that it would be beneficial to anyone, especially Roy and his family, to take his own life? It seems as though she was thinking about the attention she would receive after his death. Being his girlfriend, people would have a lot of sympathy for her, and maybe for once she would feel like she has people who care for her. She knew that.

She had history with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, so it was difficult for her to help others with the same disease that she was suffering from. The day that Roy committed suicide, he had allegedly spoken with Michelle on the phone and via text. He told her that he was planning on driving to a parking lot where he would kill himself with carbon monoxide, and she allegedly did not try to stop him. Instead, she allegedly told him that he would finally find happiness after he was no longer living. Roy had allegedly texted her regarding his own second thoughts about suicide, and he stepped out of his vehicle. Carter had every chance to encourage him to remain outside of the vehicle; she could have contacted his parents, or she could have contacted the police.

Instead, Carter then allegedly told him that he should get back into the car because it would be best for him to die due to his unhappiness. Investigators thought his suicide was suspicious because although he was depressed, he came from a happy family where he had the opportunity to take over his father’s family business, so they began looking into his death. After obtaining his cell phone, they allegedly found the text messages between Carter and Roy where she was allegedly encouraging him to get back into his vehicle, and encouraging him beforehand to commit suicide. How was Carter going to dispute this? It is sickening to think about encouraging someone to commit suicide, and everyone is able to see that did just that.

Carter has recently been charged with involuntary manslaughter and must serve time in prison, and people everywhere have spoken about how they believe that she is ultimately responsible for Roy’s death because he probably would have survived if she had not encouraged him to get back into his vehicle after having second thoughts. There is no doubt that she is responsible for Roy’s death. She allegedly told him time and time again to just do it, to just commit suicide. She allegedly embedded those thoughts into his mind until he believed that suicide was his best and only option.

People argue that it is important for people to provide advice or help to those who are obviously mentally struggling and cannot help themselves, and that is the very argument in this case. Roy was not in the correct mental state to help himself, and Michelle allegedly knew that he was not and chose to encourage him to do something that he would definitely regret. She did not talk to his parents or those who are close to him and could have helped him become happy and healthy; therefore, it is fair to place blame on Carter for Roy’s death because she did not take the proper steps to care for him.