Illegal or just immoral? Film explores texting suicide case

Associated Press
Monday, July 1, 2019 7:32 a.m. | Monday, July 1, 2019 7:32 a.m.

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Bristol County Sheriff’s Office via AP

FILE - This Feb. 11, 2019, booking photo released by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office shows Michelle Carter, convicted for sending a barrage of text messages urging boyfriend Conrad Roy III to kill himself. Roy took his own life in Fairhaven, Mass., in July 2014. A new HBO documentary that explores the case premiers on July 9.

A new documentary asks whether a young woman who sent her suicidal boyfriend countless text messages encouraging him to take his own life should be behind bars as a convicted criminal.

HBO’s “I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth V. Michelle Carter” digs into the unique case against the now-22-year-old found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Conrad Roy III.

Director Erin Lee Carr says she wants viewers to serve as Carter’s jury and decide whether her actions were criminal. Carter opted for a bench trial, which means a judge decided her fate.

The two-part documentary explores the legal case against Carter, the teens’ twisted relationship and Carter’s own mental health issues.

Part one debuts July 9.

Her lawyers are expected to appeal her case to the U.S. Supreme Court this month.