Friday, December 13, 2019

Was Justice Achieved in the Carter v. Massachusetts Case?

If I were to determine whether justice was achieved in this case, I would lean towards yes. I believe that just behavior/treatment was given to Michelle Carter. Although she did not physically force Conrad into the truck, Michelle had a considerable amount of influence over him and Conrad had a history of suicide attempts, which makes her case difficult to judge. Evidently, Michelle was nowhere near a mentally healthy state.  Michelle was struggling with her own issues: a severe eating disorder, isolation, lack of attention, suicidal thoughts, and serious self harm. Both Conrad and Michelle were on psychiatric drugs which had side effects of increased risk of suicidal ideation, behavior, and impulsivity. Conrad even told Michelle that there was nothing that she could do to prevent him from dying. Under this circumstance, Michelle’s logic led her to believe that if there was nothing that she could do to prevent him from dying, then maybe she should try to support what he wants by helping him to die. Michelle had countless issues going on in her life which show that she was not in her right mind. This kind of logic is not rational from the standpoint of a mentally person, but she was not mentally healthy. She also had an extreme obsession with the TV show, Glee; she also acted as if both cases were the same by saying lines verbatim to Conrad. She was unable to differentiate fantasy from reality, so it is questionable whether she was able to understand the consequences of anything she was doing. On the other hand, there is still some evidence that she knew that what she was doing was wrong. Michelle texted Sam Boardman that she “could have saved him, but didn’t.” She also texted a friend that she had sex with Conrad. These texts point to her personal issue of a lack of attention. If she knew that this incident would spark people to comfort her, thereby giving her attention, then it shows that she has some ability to reason that she could have done something to save him, and that she has a motive to not save him. In court, the judge believed that beyond a reasonable doubt, the actions Michelle Carter constituted wanton and reckless behavior which killed him. Conrad was struggling with his issues and had everything secured for the suicide attempt however, he broke that chain of self causation by taking himself out of the vehicle. When Michelle realized that he exited the truck, she instructed him to get back in the truck where she knew that it became a toxic environment unsuitable to human life. I agree that she did engage in wanton and reckless conduct, and that 2 and a half years of prison was appropriate for her crime.



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