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This girl induced her boyfriend to death via messages 1:23
(CNN) - Michelle Carter, the young woman from Massachusetts convicted of involuntary manslaughter for persuading her boyfriend to commit suicide, was released from prison on Thursday, months ahead of schedule due to her good behavior.
Carter, now 23, began serving a 15-month sentence in February, but reduced the time of his sentence for good behavior, according to Jonathan Darling, a spokesman for the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.
Michelle Carter with her lawyer
“Ms. Carter has been a model inmate here at the Bristol County Corrections House. He has participated in a variety of programs, has had a job inside the jail, has been kind to our staff and volunteers, has got along well with the other inmates, and we have not had discipline problems with her at all, ”Darling said .
She left the Bristol County Correction House around 9:30 am, according to a video from WHDH, a CNN affiliate. With a black turtleneck, a light blazer and black pants, the same outfit he wore the day he was sentenced, Carter left the prison surrounded by guards and got into an SUV truck waiting for her.
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Carter's release ends a saga that began when Conrad Roy III, 18, committed suicide in July 2014. Investigators discovered dozens of Carter's text messages in which she, according to prosecutors, rebuked Roy and encouraged him to continue with suicide, even after he expressed his doubts.
“I thought you wanted to do this. It's the right time and you're ready, you just have to do it! You can't keep living this way, ”he wrote in an exchange of messages.
The case attracted attention for its focus on teenage suicide, digital romance and the legal gray area of whether someone can be convicted of someone else's suicide.
Carter was a "model inmate"
Carter was active in prison work and education programs, said Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, calling her a model inmate.
“When we say model inmate, we talk about participation in programs, not disciplinary problems, and she met that criteria for all of us,” he said.
Carter had cellmates, though not initially, and he really liked gardening, Hodgson said. The staff that interacted with her reported that "she was very interested in entering as many programs as she could and did," she said.
Conrad Roy's mother, Lynn Roy, reacted to Carter's release in a statement provided by her fiance, Roland St. Denis.
"I will continue to honor my son every day, keeping his spirit in my memory and looking for ways to help others who may be experiencing what I have experienced," he said. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who has supported my family for the past 5 years. And now, it's time to turn the page to a new chapter in our lives. ”
At their trial, prosecutors said Carter listened on the phone while Conrad Roy was suffocating from the inhalation of carbon monoxide in his van, and said he did not tell his parents or authorities when he died. His defense attorneys said Carter was a troubled and delirious young woman and that Roy had always intended to commit suicide.
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"The evidence really established that Conrad Roy caused his own death by his physical actions and by his own thoughts," defense attorney Joseph Cataldo said. "You're dealing with an individual who wanted to take his own life ... dragged Michelle Carter into this."
Carter was tried when she was a child and was found guilty in 2017. Her lawyers appealed the conviction and argued that her text and word messages were a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.
But a Massachusetts appeals court rejected those arguments, saying that "it helped plan how, where and when" her boyfriend would commit suicide, "he minimized his fears about how his suicide would affect his family" and "repeatedly punished him for his indecision" , the judges found.
Last week, the United States Supreme Court said it would not take your case for review.
Last week's events have given the Roy family a sense of closure, said Rebecca Maki, Roy's aunt and family spokesman.
"With the Supreme Court last week refusing to hear the appeal and Michelle being released this week, it brings a sense of closure knowing that we won't have to go through any other appeal," the family said in a statement.
“We are disappointed that Michelle is released early and does not serve her full prison sentence, but we understand that this is the normal process for someone with good behavior. That said, we don't consider her a 'good girl'. ”
Michelle Carter