Two years after Michelle Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for pressuring Conrad Roy to commit suicide when they were both teenagers, Roy’s family is pursuing a policy change that they hope will spare other families the same tragedy. A bill introduced by State Sen. Barry Finegold and State Rep. Natalie Higgins would criminalize the act of helping or encouraging someone with a known mental illness history to commit suicide, outside of a physician setting. The drafters of the bill say that Massachusetts is one of just eight states that does not have such a law on the books, but some like the ACLU have raised concerns about its potential impact on free speech and due process.
Jim Braude was joined by Conrad Roy’s mother, Lynn Roy, and Sen. Barry Finegold.
