Taunton Judge Orders Michelle Carter to Begin Jail Sentence

TAUNTON — A Taunton Juvenile Court judge has ordered Michelle Carter, the woman convicted of manslaughter in the texting suicide case, to begin serving her 15-month jail sentence.

The 22-year-old was led out of the Taunton courthouse Monday afternoon after her lawyer urged the judge to allow Carter to remain free while her legal team appeals her conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling comes just hours after the highest court in Massachusetts denied an emergency motion filed by Carter’s attorneys for a stay of sentence.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III tweeted earlier in the day that the state’s Supreme Judicial Court had notified him that Carter’s request for a stay of sentence was denied.

“We have just been notified that the SJC has denied Michelle Carter’s motion for a stay of sentence in her case,” DA Quinn tweeted just before 1:00 p.m. Monday.

The DA’s Office had filed a motion last week for the trial court in Taunton to revoke the stay of sentence and have the 15-month jail sentence imposed.

Carter was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter in the suicide death of Conrad Roy III and was sentenced to 15-months in prison. She had remained free as she appealed her conviction, which was upheld in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week.

Carter was convicted of encouraging Roy through text messages to follow through with his suicide in a truck filled with carbon monoxide in a Fairhaven parking lot in July of 2014.

Carter’s attorneys say they plan to appeal her conviction to the U.S Supreme Court.