BOSTON (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union has denounced as unconstitutional the manslaughter conviction of a woman who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself.

The ACLU's Massachusetts chapter says in a statement that the conviction "exceeds the limits of our criminal laws and violates free speech protections guaranteed by the Massachusetts and U.S. Constitutions."

A juvenile court judge on Friday found Michelle Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 death of Conrad Roy III.

The ACLU's legal director for Massachusetts says Roy's suicide is tragic, "but it is not a reason to stretch the boundaries of our criminal laws or abandon the protections of our constitution."

Carter had urged Roy to "get back in" his truck as it was filling with toxic gas.

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