{"id":875,"date":"2016-04-23T05:38:02","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T09:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.massachusettscriminaldefenselawyerblog.com\/?p=875"},"modified":"2016-04-23T05:38:02","modified_gmt":"2016-04-23T09:38:02","slug":"sjc-considers-whether-juvenile-can-charged-involuntary-manslaughter-encouraging-another-commit-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.delsignoredefense.com\/blog\/sjc-considers-whether-juvenile-can-charged-involuntary-manslaughter-encouraging-another-commit-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"SJC considers whether a juvenile can be charged with involuntary manslaughter for encouraging another to commit suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments recently in the case of Commonwealth v. Carter<\/a>.<\/em> Carter is charged with involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to commit suicide. The question the court must answer now is whether evidence that a juvenile has encouraged someone else to commit suicide constitutes \u201cinfliction or threat of serious bodily harm\u201d for the purpose of indicting Carter as a youthful offender. Massachusetts currently does not have a statute about whether encouraging another person to commit suicide is criminally punishable.<\/p>\n

Carter\u2019s attorneys contend that verbally encouraging someone to commit suicide, no matter how forceful the encouragement, does not constitute a crime in Massachusetts. Carter\u2019s encouragement did not cross the line to conduct that caused Roy\u2019s death. Carter\u2019s attorneys argue that verbal action of encouragement does not constitute \u201cwanton and reckless behavior that results in the death of another\u201d under the Massachusetts involuntary manslaughter statute. Roy was 30 miles away, and her encouragement was telling him to \u201cget back in the car\u201d where he then committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. He got back into the truck with the intention of ending his own life, with no coercion from Carter.<\/p>\n

Carter\u2019s attorneys argue that words alone cannot be wanton and reckless. If someone makes a decision to participate in a dangerous activity, it is not because the words of another were wanton and reckless. Even the encouragement to take place in a game of Russian Roulette is not enough to constitute wanton and reckless behavior without the fact that the encouragement is to participate in the underlying crime of taking another\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading \u203a<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments recently in the case of Commonwealth v. Carter. Carter is charged with involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to commit suicide. The question the court must answer now is whether evidence that a juvenile has encouraged someone else to commit suicide constitutes \u201cinfliction or threat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-important-sjc-decisions"],"yoast_head":"\nSJC considers whether a juvenile can be charged with involuntary manslaughter for encouraging another to commit suicide — Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog — April 23, 2016<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments recently in the case of Commonwealth v. Carter. 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