Michelle Carter, convicted in texting-suicide case, is denied parole

Michelle Carter, the young woman convicted of encouraging her boyfriend to kill himself, had her request for parole rejected by a Massachusetts state board.

“The [board] is troubled that Ms. Carter not only encouraged [Conrad Roy III] to take his own life, she actively prevented others from intervening in his suicide,” the parole board wrote in its decision released Friday morning. “Ms. Carter’s self-serving statements and behavior, leading up to and after his suicide, appear to be irrational and lacked sincerity.”

The board added that Carter needs to address the “causative effects” that led to the offense. “Release does not meet the legal standard.”

Carter was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III. The 22-year-old woman, who was 17 at the time of Roy’s death in 2014, began her prison sentence in February.

Roy died by suicide after filling the inside of his pickup truck with poisonous fumes. When he had second thoughts, Carter texted him to “get back in” the truck.

Carter’s attorneys argued her texts were constitutionally protected free speech. Her conviction has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.