Michelle Carter Is Appealing Her Conviction In Texting Suicide Case

Michelle Carter was sentenced last summer to 15 months in jail for texting and making phone calls to her 18-year-old boyfriend Conrad Roy that encouraged him to kill himself by getting into his carbon monoxide-filled truck in 2014. Carter was 17 years old at the time.

On Thursday, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justices heard arguments on the appeal of her involuntary manslaughter conviction. Her attorney argue that it was not adequately proven that Carter was responsible for Roy's death.

The case, they say, raises questions about the definition of involuntary manslaughter. Also, her attorneys question whether someone can be held responsible for the death of another person based on words, especially in a state with no so-called assisted suicide laws.

Deborah Becker, WBUR senior correspondent. She tweets @wburdebbecker.