After five years of hearings, arguments and appeals in the infamous case of Michelle Carter — the Massachusetts woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter for sending her boyfriend text messages encouraging him to commit suicide — she is now behind bars. The case was widely watched by legal observers, as it waded into largely untested waters to ask: Can someone be convicted for their words? While some have argued the conviction set a troubling precedent for free speech rights, others have said that justice was served because Carter bullied a vulnerable person experiencing acute mental crisis.
To discuss, Jim Braude was joined by Carter’s legal defense team, which is now considering an appeal to the Supreme Court: retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, and local defense attorneys Williams Fick and Daniel Marx.
