Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz spoke to Carter before announcing the sentence.
The doors to her 2.5 years confinement cell were made open for Massachusetts-based Michelle Carter by a juvenile court after she was found guilty of provoking her boyfriend through text messages to commit suicide.
According to the sentence pronounced on Thursday, Carter will have to serve two and a half years in prison for her role in the suicide of Conrad Roy III, who was found dead in 2014 due to complications caused by carbon monoxide inhalation.
Related: Massachusetts woman could face 20 years for abetment of boyfriend’s suicide as a teenager
Carter, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was found guilty by the court for having counseled Roy to overcome his fears to commit suicide through text messages, which she asked him to be deleted soon after being read.
The last text message that Carter wrote, which was moments after Roy backed himself from getting inside a truck filled with toxic gas read, “The time is right and you are ready … just do it, babe.”
“You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t,” Carter wrote in one of the text messages.
Before announcing the sentence, Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz spoke to Carter who was facing a prison sentence up to 20 years.
Related:Teenager in Massachusetts allegedly pressurized boyfriend to commit suicide
Carter was convicted of “involuntary manslaughter” for persuading Conrad Roy III, who was 18 at the time to kill himself in 2014.
While announcing the sentence, Carter reportedly stood emotionless, stated a New York Post [link] report. Judge Moniz while declaring the sentence said it “a tragedy for two families.”
The two teens first met during a family vacation in 2012 and after that their relationship built around text messages. Both Carter and Roy were facing acute signs of depression with Carter treated for anorexia and Roy for suicide tendency.
The text message that Carter sent to Roy just moments before he committed suicide was read aloud during the six-day hearing.
“It’s okay to be scared and it’s normal. I mean, you’re about to die. … You just need to do it, Conrad. The more you push it off, the more it will eat at you. … You just have to do it, Conrad. It’s painless and quick,” read the final text message from Carter.
ALSO READ: Two teenagers detained in murder of 5 people in Oklahoma house
Carter was also found guilty of not alerting the authorities or notify Conrad’s family though her lawyer said she had asked Roy to consult a psychologist for suicide tendency.
Matthew Segal, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, had earlier said that no law exists as of now in the State of Massachusetts to make one accountable for encouraging or persuading someone to commit suicide. And the sentencing of Carter for a crime that she did as a teenager exceeds the limits of criminal laws and is a violation of free speech.
The trial was conducted in a juvenile court because Carter was 17 at the time of the incident. Joseph Cataldo, Carter’s lawyer told the court, “You’re dealing with an individual who wanted to take his own life. He dragged Michelle Carter into this. It’s sad. It’s tragic. It’s just not a homicide.”