All language subtitles for I.Love.You.Now.Die.The.Commonwealth.vs.Michelle.Carter.S01E02.WEBRip.x264-ION10

LESLIE BENNETT:
I'm very happy for you, Rue.

You're about to start
a brand new chapter.

You've been clean for, like,
two weeks, right?

RUE BENNETT: I've actually
been really happy.

♪ Still don't know my name ♪

Every time I feel good,
I think it'll last forever.

But it doesn't.

We're just reaching
for something...

to make it all seem meaningful.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

JOSEPH CATALDO:
Did you have some interaction

-with a Conrad Roy Junior?
-Yes, I did.

CATALDO: And could you
please describe that?

MARYCLARE FLYNN: Objection.

JUDGE MONIZ: Overruled.

I was-- I was-- I responded
to an assault call, sir.

CATALDO: Okay. And what
did you do when you arrived?

We attempted to find the person
that had been assaulted.

CATALDO: Okay. And at some point
in time, did you come into, um,

the physical presence
of Conrad Roy III?

-I did.
-CATALDO: Okay. And uh,

did you make any observations
of him?

JUSTIN KING:
Yes, his face was swollen red

and he had some uh,
lacerations to his face.

CATALDO: Did you obtain
a written statement from him?

KING: I did, yes.

♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

I found myself um, at a home
located on, uh, Perkins Lane.

CATALDO: And what did you do
when you arrived

-at that location?
-I interviewed a, uh,

an older male and a female.

CATALDO: Okay. And do you
remember the older male's name?

Conrad Roy.

CATALDO: And did you ask him
specifically what happened?

DENNIS TAVARES: Yes, I did.

Before concluding
my investigation, uh,

a male party was subsequently
placed under arrest.

CATALDO: And who was that
male party that was--

The father.

-The one you were speaking to?
-Correct.

CATALDO: And what
was he arrested for?

Assault and battery domestic.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

Yeah. You know,
you think at first

it's kind of embarrassing
but you know what?

It doesn't really matter.

I know what happened
that night with my son.

And I know, like,
I was being a parent.

And I know things got
out of control

and we both fought each other.
(SCOFFS)

And, um...

and I'd do it again
just-- just like that.

You know, sometimes, like,

you say it, you know, like--
My father always said,

"If you ever take a swing
at me,

you're gonna, um,

you're gonna get it." (CHUCKLES)
You know? It's like,

"You're gonna make sure
you don't do that ever again."

And I just felt like
I had to do the same thing.

♪ ("COME FIND ME"
BY EMILE HAYNIE FEAT. LYKKE LI
& ROMY PLAYS) ♪

♪ I fall ♪

♪ I fall ♪

♪ Deeper than ever ♪

♪ I call ♪

♪ I call ♪

♪ Baby, come find me ♪

♪ I fall ♪

♪ I fall ♪

♪ Deeper than ever ♪

♪ I call ♪

♪ I call ♪

♪ Baby, come find me ♪

♪ Baby, come find me ♪

♪ Baby, come find me ♪

♪ (MUSIC FADES) ♪

REPORTER:
Hard to describe the feeling

in the courtroom today.

Pretty much everyone on edge.

Now, the defense
will present their case.

They've already called
several witnesses this morning

and things will move forward
in this landmark trial.

JESSE BARRON:
You have to remember that

this case has two families

who were basically trying
to do the same thing.

They both want a version
of the story

in which it is not their fault.

The Roys are hoping for
a version of the story

where the suicide of their son
is Michelle's fault,

and that she was waiting
for the moment

when she could pounce
on this kid

and make him kill himself
and get a bunch of sympathy.

And the Carters are hoping for
a version of the story

where Michelle's actions
are not her fault.

And that's what Peter Breggin
was arguing.

-JUDGE MONIZ: Morning, Doctor.
-Good morning, Your Honor.

Please raise your right hand.

In this matter before the court,
you swear the testimony
you're about to give

to be the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth

-so help you God?
-I do.

Thank you.

All right.
Please take a seat, sir.

Make yourself nice
and comfortable.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

I got a call out of the blue
from the attorney, Mr. Cataldo.

What he said is,
"Doc, we got this case

that we don't know
what's going on

and we can't figure out...

Um... Give us a hand." (LAUGHS)

I was originally called in

to see whether
Conrad Roy's medication

had made him suicidal.

He was on psychiatric drugs,
antidepressants,

and if you look at the research
on what the psych drugs do...

they can cause suicide.

I concluded it was
a contributing factor

but not an overwhelming factor

because there were many other
things impinging on Conrad.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

Conrad was reacting
to a very unhappy,

angry, and at times,
violent divorce. We know that.

The father charged the mother
with assault.

There're all these things
coming to bear on him.

Then I found out that Michelle
was... on psychiatric drugs too.

And so, we have these two kids;

they're not star crossed,
they're drug crossed.

When did Michelle Carter start,
uh, consuming SSRIs?

She started Prozac
(CLEARS THROAT)

on February 17, 2011,
uh, ten milligrams.

And, uh,
she was just a young girl then,

fourteen going on 15.

CATALDO: Okay, thank you.

BREGGIN: Prozac greatly
increase the risk

of suicide
in young people her age.

And she never should've
been given Prozac

because she was bulimic,

and that would increase
the power of Prozac over her.

And not long after
her first exposure to Prozac,

she climbed up on a stool

and put a noose around her neck
in her closet.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

Now at the same moment,
Conrad Roy,

whom at that point she thought
was a sweet boyfriend

without any serious problems,

was admitted to
a psychiatric hospital

for a serious suicide attempt.

(DOG BARKING)

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

So now Michelle,
who's a youngster

who's on Prozac at the time,

is dealing
with this huge disclosure.

It's-- And he is saying
"I'm not who you thought I was."

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: And furthermore,
as announced to her

that voices are telling himself
to kill himself tonight.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

Michelle becomes desperate.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

Conrad won't answer her.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

And she thinks
he's killed himself.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

(SIRENS BLARING)

Conrad, at least four times,
attempted suicide,

once nearly killing himself.

LYNN ROY:
He overdosed on acetaminophen.

And the EMTs call me.

And, um, they ask, they're like,

"Well, he threw--
You know, threw up a lot.

Do you want, um, him
to be seen?"

(SCOFFS) I said "Absolutely."

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

He almost needed
a liver transplant at that time.

He said he would never
do that again.

He said, "I-- I promise you

I will nev--
never do that again."

I said,
"You know that if you died,

Mom...

would want to die too.
You know that, right?"

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

CATALDO:
And how is this relevant

to your clinical analysis
of this case?

Well, it has to do with the...

effects of Conrad...

on what will eventually become

her idea taken from him

that he's going to kill himself,

and that all he cares about
is doing it swiftly and quickly

and not botching it.

She's following his lead
into a very dark place.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BREGGIN:
Probably the most common

adverse effect of
antidepressants is nightmares.

So, this is just spot on.

She's clearly out of her mind,
and so is he.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

CATALDO: You can't look
at one text message.

You have to look
at the totality of their
relationship.

You have somebody, Conrad Roy,

who has been suicidal
for a very long time,

really, at this point in time,
intent on killing himself.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

She, if you look at her
for a year and a half,

never wanted him to die. Didn't
want him to kill himself.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

What caused her to switch?

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: It struck me

that she was in an extremely
abusive relationship.

There's this constant harassing
of her

while he's not telling family.

And at one point toward the end,

-Conrad tells her...
-(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: "The one thing
that will make me hate you

is if you tell anyone
that I'm suicidal."

-And she listens.
-(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: Michelle got it all.

There's this huge pyramid
of his misery

and at the bottom of it
is sitting Michelle Carter

and nobody else.

Conrad told Michelle
that his mother knew

that he was suicidal.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

CATALDO: He actually
screenshotted her, Michelle,

his laptop, of methods
how to kill yourself.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

CATALDO: Michelle says, "Well,
didn't she say
anything to you?"

And Conrad responded, "No,

she just looked at it
and walked away."

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

What Conrad is doing
is manipulating

and lying to Michelle,
saying, "My mom even knows."

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

The whole story became deeper,

and the theme was running
the exact opposite

of the DA's witch hunt.

In fact, both were victims
of the psychiatric drugs.

CATALDO: What is
a involuntary intoxication?

Well, by definition
it's an intoxication,

which means that

the neurochemistry of the brain
has been disrupted.

And that this intoxication
is observable

through thoughts,
behaviors, activities.

They involve, in general,
things like impulsivity,

impaired judgment...

CATALDO: And specifically,
Dr. Breggin,

as to Michelle Carter,
did you have an opinion

of whether or not she was
involuntarily intoxicated?

BREGGIN: Yes.

And what is that opinion?

BREGGIN: She was
involuntarily intoxicated.

She was taking Prozac
and she then switched to Celexa.

CATALDO: And are you able to,
uh, pinpoint

about when she became
involuntarily intoxicated?

Yes, on July 2nd,

she begins to help him
go to heaven.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

At this point, she has
an involuntary intoxication

where she's not forming
a criminal intent,

"I'm gonna harm him."

She's not doing something
she thinks is criminal,

"This is bad."

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: She's thinking

that it's a good thing
to help him die.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: That she can mitigate
the circumstances.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: That she can then go
and help his family.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

And like anybody who's
in a hypomanic state,

she gets very angry
when she's disrupted.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BREGGIN: This is now the way.

She's found the way
to finally help.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

DR. ANNE GLOWINSKI:
Involuntary intoxication

is a diagnosis
that I never use,

and that most of the colleagues
that I know don't use.

But that is using
forensic psychiatry.

So, without, you know,
without, uh, any consensus

by our profession that
it's even real.

In some
children and adolescents
taking antidepressants,

it can be disinhibiting.

I wouldn't call it drastic,
you know?

But, uh, if you become manic
when you're on antidepressant,

that's pretty drastic,
you know,

and that happens in a very
small proportion of cases.

You may resume when
you are ready, Miss Rayburn.

Thank you very much, Your Honor.

-Uh, good morning, sir.
-Morning.

KATIE RAYBURN:
You would agree with me

at the time between July 2nd
and July 12th, 2014,

the defendant was going
to camp, correct?

-BREGGIN: Yes.
-RAYBURN: Okay.

She was interacting with
friends at times, correct?

-BREGGIN: Yes.
-She's seeking therapy

and talking to her therapist,

-correct?
-Yes.

RAYBURN:
And you would agree with me

that the therapist describes
her appearance as

good eye contact,
well groomed, correct? Okay?

-Yeah.
-RAYBURN: All right.

Short-term memory intact.
Judgment good. Correct?

Mm-hmm.

RAYBURN: Behavior,
no abnormalities, correct?

Yeah.

RAYBURN:
Her affect is appropriate.

Her short, uh,
long-term memory's intact,

-correct?
-Yeah.

RAYBURN: Her insight is good.

-Correct?
-Yeah.

RAYBURN:
And you're now telling us

that she didn't know
right from wrong

at that same time?

BREGGIN: Well, actually,
she thought she was doing

absolutely the right thing.

RAYBURN:
You would agree with me, though,

that on July 10th
into July 11th 2014, uh,

the defendant
is telling friends,

specifically Sam Boardman,
that Conrad is missing,

-correct?
-BREGGIN: Yes.

RAYBURN: But at the same time,
you would agree with me

she's communicating
with Conrad?

BREGGIN: Yes.

She's telling people
he's missing,

she doesn't know where he is.

She's getting updates
from the family.

All while speaking to him,
correct?

Yes. It's very strange.
I can't find a rational reason

why she would ever have been
doing this.

I think it's part of a very
confused, delusional state

that-- Where she's coming
in and out of, uh,

"What's happening?
What am I doing?"

RAYBURN:
How about the rational reason

that she wanted to know
how her friends would react

when he killed himself?

No. I can't imagine that
would be motivating her

to be opening up this
horrible, bizarre activity

she's involved in. I...

I mean, you would expect her

not to do anything like that.
(CHUCKLES)

RAYBURN: But she's saying
she's concerned for him,

while at the same time
talking to him.

Yeah. I think it's really crazy.

And in fact, Sam does,
I would suggest to you,

she then shows concern.
Correct?

-Well, of course, yeah.
-RAYBURN: Okay.

Focusing now on July 12th
into the 13th. 9:48 PM.

To Sam: "I'm so fucking stupid.

The generator he got
the other day...

I think that he--
the noise I heard...

I just looked it up;
they emit carbon monoxide.

I think he poisoned himself
with it."

And so it goes, correct?

-That's actually a question.
-BREGGIN: Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Now,
you would agree with me, sir,

that there were text messages
between the defendant

and Conrad Roy about exactly
how he was gonna kill himself,

-weren't there?
-Yeah. Absolutely.

Okay. So, her telling Sam,

"I think the noise
that I heard, uh, I looked--

I think the generator
he got today,

I think that was the noise
I heard. I looked it up.

They can emit carbon monoxide."

She already knew that,
didn't she?

-BREGGIN: Yes.
-Okay.

And now talking to Ally,
she says, "Ha, ha, yeah.

But I don't know;
he's in a bad place right now,"

talking to Con-- about Conrad,
correct?

BREGGIN: Yes.

RAYBURN: She's telling Ally
he's in a bad place.

He's dead, sir, at that point.

Did you factor that
in your opinion then?

The fact that she knows
he's dead,

and in saying, "Ha, ha yeah.

But I don't know;
he's in a bad place right now."

Did you factor that
into your opinion?

Yes, I factored every--

every bit of this
into my opinion, yes.

RAYBURN: So, she's telling
one person one thing

and other people
other things, correct?

BREGGIN: Yes, she is.

RAYBURN: So now,
the next morning,

July 13th, 2014 at 9:02,
her mother texts her, correct?

BREGGIN: Yes.

"Hi, Michelle.
What are you doing?" Right?

Michelle responds,
"I'm at home."

Mom says, "Doing what?"

Michelle responds,
"Nothing, ha, ha."

Doesn't tell her mother anything
about what's going on,

-does she?
-BREGGIN: No.

RAYBURN: She only tells
her friends,

-correct?
-BREGGIN: Yes.

RAYBURN: These same friends
that she has been asking

to hang out with her
for the past year

and who routinely
don't hang out with her.

Isn't that true?

Oh, I don't know that.

RAYBURN: Would you factor it
into your opinion,

the fact that these--
the defendant wanted to hang out

with her friends and her friends
didn't have time with her

that summer? Could that impact
your opinion?

BREGGIN: That it turned her
into a crazy person

who transformed her character,

-became grandiose...
-No.

...and encouraged a young man
whom she loved

and had been working with a--
again and again to--

to get better,
that she turned on him

and started to encourage him
to die?

No, I don't think so.

She's psychotic, deluded.
She's disturbed.

Everything you're describing
is why I concluded

she's got an involuntary
intoxication.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

CAMERAMAN: All right,
just coming in.

-You ready?
-Yep.

NEWS ANCHOR: So far this morning
we've been hearing from

Dr. Peter Breggin, that paints
a very different picture

than what we saw last week
in those messages.

And the biggest question
here now

is will Michelle Carter testify?

Are you gonna call Michelle
to the stand tomorrow?

Uh. I have no comment.
We're going to proceed tomorrow

with the continuation
of the trial.

BARRON: Part of the drama
of this case

was the adult world confronting
what teenagers are like.

All right, guys. Can you stop?
You've already got her picture.

And I think for the parents
it must be sort of impossible

to understand what happened,

'cause it's so far
from what is, you know,

acceptable human behavior,

what she did
in the last few weeks.

And I think the biggest mystery
of the story is not...

why Michelle Carter
did what she did,

but what Michelle Carter
thought she was doing.

JOHN SULER: What's really
interesting about this case

is that we have
this very detailed record

of what was said between them.

This detailed record
of their minds coming together

and interacting
with each other.

In the past we wouldn't have
had that record.

All we would've had was
a person commits suicide

and we're all left wondering
what happened.

Are we talking about
young psychopaths?

Are we talking about

narcissistic personality
disorders,

borderline disorders?

Are we just talking about
young, troubled kids

who don't have a well-developed
frontal cortex

and just don't have
the self-awareness

and the ability to see
what they're doing?

But now because we have this
record of this dialogue

between them, we have
this opportunity to see

what was going on
inside their minds,

inside that thought process
between the two of them.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

BARRON:
The idea that this was a case

where a girlfriend
killed a boyfriend

is really weird.

The way that I read it is...

the relationship was much more
Michelle's fantasy

and Michelle's idea
than it was Conrad's.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: Conrad was alternately
kind of mean to her,

kind of sweet to her...

kind of negging her
for most of the relationship.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

They really weirdly connected

on this slightly mean,

slightly competitive level
that they both had.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON:
They had this kind of game

-that they would play together.
-(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: They would finish
each other's sentences,

they would play
weird word games

and free associations.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: And it's, like,
kind of sexy, kind of weird,

kind of exciting
if you're a teenage boy.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: They both sort of liked
this kind of

brinkmanship with each other.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON:
They talked a lot about

"Let's meet, let's hang out.
When are we going to hang out?"

They'd come to the brink
of seeing each other

and then they'd always
back away.

So, their whole relationship
was the text messages.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS
AND TYPING SOUNDS)

MARIN COGAN: The fact that
we now all live our lives

via smart phones

is completely central
to this case.

It's every parent's
worst nightmare.

You have two teenagers
connecting in the most

cataclysmic possible way.

Conrad, he found someone

who he could confide
these thoughts in.

And Michelle found this access
to immediate sort of intimacy.

(typing sounds)

SULER: When people
are communicating through text,

strange things
can start to happen.

You don't necessarily
experience the other person

as another person.

You can't see them,
you can't hear them,

you can't see
their body language.

You have this voice with you
all day long

that will suddenly pop up
and say things to you.

I think in some ways
people experience that

as a voice in their head,

almost as if it's like
an internal hallucination.

You're really interacting
with these characters

inside your mind without really
understanding,

on a more conscious,
rational level,

these text messages are coming
from another person

with their own life
and their own thoughts

and their own feelings.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: In some ways,

the big moral failing
from Michelle

has to do with
an eerie inability

to fully apprehend reality.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: There's one level
of the conversation

that is a kid that's
gonna kill himself.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON:
And then there's another level

that's a romantic fantasy.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: There is an amazing
intensity to the messages

that's totally incommensurate
with the relationship

-they had before.
-(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: And what I found is that

there was all of
these references

to different TV shows,
to movies, to songs...

But by far, by far
the most common source

for that kind of language
was Glee.

Glee is a TV show that is set
in an American high school

and the stars are Lea Michele
and Cory Monteith,

who are not only the stars
of the show

but were a couple in real life.

And Michelle was obsessed
with Lea Michele.

So, often when she was writing
to Conrad

or writing about Conrad,

she would borrow from text
that was in this TV show.

You are my first love.

And I want more than anything
for you to be my last.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

And I think she connected
with Lea Michele

on kind of a profound level
that went beyond

what a normal teen identifying
with a star...

you know, might feel like.

A star of the popular show Glee
found dead

in his hotel room
in Vancouver. The body...

BARRON: In 2013, Cory Monteith
overdosed in a hotel room

and died.

This was a year,
basically, to the day,

before Conrad died.

The cast of Glee
puts on a tribute episode.

(SINGING) ♪ When the rain
is blowing in your face ♪

Lea Michele sings a song
in his honor

and everyone's devastated

because the character has died
in the show.

So, it's an incredibly eerie
piece of television, because...

you know that this actual actor
OD'd in a hotel

somewhere in Canada,
but in the world of the show,

this football quarterback
has died tragically

and everyone is singing
pop songs to mourn him.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: And Michelle
introduces that to Conrad

in October 2013.

Michelle says, "I just want you
to know how much I love you

and it really made me think
of what it would be like

if you weren't here."

Totally out of the blue
from what was happening.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: It's sort of
the first moment

where you realize that Michelle

has, like,
a completely other story

that's going on that has nothing
to do with Conrad specifically.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: But the idea that

she would be
the person in Glee

who had a boyfriend
who was the quarterback

who had
sort of tragically died,

I think was kind of more real
to her

than it probably is
to most people.

I had it all planned out.

Now what?

I don't know,
something different.

Maybe something better.

I just-- I don't think
that that's possible.

He was my person.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: One of the eerie parts
of the text messages

that Michelle sent
to her friends

where she quotes
from Lea Michele,

is that they don't all come
from Glee;

they come from interviews
that the real actress is giving

about her real dead boyfriend
to real talk show hosts.

I literally lived
every day of my life

feeling like the luckiest girl
in the whole world.

I just-- I just thought
he was the greatest man.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

This is weird.
This is really weird.

BARRON: I think it translates
to that Michelle

had little if any idea
of who she was.

That she identified
extremely strongly

with this other world,
this other life.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: Alice was a teammate
of Michelle's

on a travel softball team
in the spring of 2012.

They instantly became
incredibly close.

They went to, uh,
each other's houses,

they slept over, they took
a team trip to Montreal

and when other, uh,
kids on the team

were going out to eat
as a group,

they would kind of sneak off
and eat together,

-just the two of them.
-(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

It was an intense
teen friendship

that was almost like
a love affair for Michelle.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: Kind of abruptly,

right around the time
that Michelle met Conrad,

Alice cut off contact with her.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

And in 2014, in the summer...

Michelle, for some reason,
starts really missing Alice.

And this is all happening
right around the time

that Conrad is really suicidal.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

BARRON: It seems to me that

a lot of the emotional logic
of the case

really has more to do with
the friendship with Alice

than it has to do with
the relationship with Conrad.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: I called Alice
and I said, you know,

"I want to interview you
because it sounds like

Michelle was in love with you."

And I met Alice and her mother.

The reason they were meeting me

was to refute
exactly that story.

So, they were meeting to say,

"Michelle is a sociopath,

and she made this all up.
There was never

anything physical
about the relationship."

And if I didn't feel
for Michelle

in any moment before that,

in that moment I felt...

a sympathy for how alone
she was.

She had this desire for things
to be more intense,

more like stories
than they really were.

She didn't live in reality;

like, she lived in some kind
of fantasy... I think.

But she's just not
a well person, so...

How can you be that angry
or how can you be that...

when someone is not...

She's not well.

That's all I say.
She's not well.

(CRICKETS CHIRPING)

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON:
The pattern that would happen

in the last few weeks
of Conrad's life

is Conrad would say,
"I'm gonna do it tonight."

Then the next morning
he would be alive.

Then a few days later
he would say,

"Okay,
I'm ready to do it tonight.

I'm gonna do it,"
and then the next morning,

he would be alive.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: July 12th,
when Conrad dies,

there's a kind of
reality flicker,

where it's not entirely clear
that it's actually happened.

(PHONE RINGING)

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

BARRON: I'll tell you something
really weird.

Five days before Conrad died,
Michelle goes to a movie theater

and sees
The Fault in Our Stars.

And at the climax of the movie,

the boy, Gus,

is dying in a gas station
in a Jeep.

And he calls his girlfriend
for help.

Augustus.

GUS: Hazel Grace.

Hi. Oh, my God, hi.
Hi. I love you.

BARRON:
And she calls the police

and he gets into an ambulance.

So, it doesn't seem implausible
to me

that there were other stories
in Michelle's mind

that reminded her of what was
happening at that moment.

And I think the question is
whether or not

she was kind of writing
some story in her head

or writing some movie
that for some reason

had to end with him dying.

Or whether she literally has
no idea what she's done.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: What is obvious to me
is that when...

he really needed someone

to understand how serious
it was,

and to go over his head
to the cops, to his mother,

she wasn't that person.

And that's her
kind of tragic failing.

She, who wanted so badly
to have a best friend

or someone she could sort of
have this intense,

dyadic affair with,

had the opportunity to do that

with this kid who that night
needed someone

to be his friend and to say,
"You are being fucking crazy

and I'm calling the police."
And um...

she didn't do it.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

RAYBURN: "His death is my fault.

Like, honestly,
I could've stopped him.

I was on the phone with him
and he got out of the car

because it was working.
And he got scared

and I fucking told him
to get back in, Sam,

because I knew he would do it
all over again the next day.

And I couldn't have him live
that way,

the way he was living, anymore.

I couldn't do it.
I wouldn't let him."

Those were her words,
Your Honor.

She says to her friend,
"If I had done something,

if I had just told him
that I loved him,

he would still be alive."

CATALDO: Your Honor,
this is a suicide,

as I said in my opening
statement, and I say now.

What we're dealing with
is a suicide and not a homicide.

And this is
the government's burden

to prove that it was
a homicide,

a manslaughter
under the elements.

Proof, not by a probable cause,

not by clear
and convincing evidence,

but proof
beyond a reasonable doubt.

If you go through and you look
at who actually created

this suicidal situation,

he brought her,
with all of her baggage,

along for this sad journey
of his

to eventually take his own life.

RAYBURN: Despite his issues,

Conrad Roy was a very
self-aware young man.

He knew when he needed help.

You know what he said was
the one reason

that he wanted to live?
His family.

Before the defendant got
her hooks into him

and started telling him to die
every day, he was hopeful.

CATALDO: This is a gentleman
who was sadly subjected

to domestic violence.

In fact, he tells that he had
daily intrusive thoughts

of witnessing
domestic violence.

Those are his words
he's telling his therapist

in the counselors
in the records, Your Honor.

RAYBURN: During the days
leading up to this, Your Honor,

he told her, "I'm scared.
I don't have it in me.

Another day wouldn't hurt."

Every time he came up
with an excuse not to do it,

she kicked his feet out
right from under him

and told him why
it didn't matter,

why he still needed to die.

Mr. Roy himself
stated to Michelle Carter,

"I want to die."

Straight up. Those words.
"I want to die."

To turn around and say
she's bullying him

or she got him to do something
he didn't want to do,

he's asking her,
"You want to help?"

His words. "You want to help?"

He doesn't tell her,
"Stop this.

Don't call me, lose my number,
stop texting me, block call,"

nothing of the like.
He continues to use her

for his support
to carry out his plan.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

CATALDO:
He goes down to K-mart.

He doesn't do a U-turn.
Not seeking any help.

Police department down the road
a half a mile.

He has his cell phone with him.
What's he do?

He actually--
In the phone records,

he calls Michelle Carter.

The first phone call
right there, he calls her.

He doesn't call 911.
Doesn't call anybody else,

he calls Michelle.

I suggest why?
Because he knows

that she is encouraging
and supporting his plan.

(PHONE RINGING)

RAYBURN: She created the harm,
Your Honor,

when she told him
to get back in the car.

(PHONE RINGING)

He was scared.
She knows he's gonna die

and she says, "I could've done
something to stop it,

and if I had he would still
be alive today."

She-- By her own admission,
she caused his death.

She knew at that moment
he did not want to die.

The Commonwealth is conflating
this idea of "he was scared"

as "he didn't want to do it."

That's what they're doing;
they're saying he-- he told--

Michelle told a friend that
Conrad got out of the car

and he was scared
because it was working.

So, Conrad apparently knew
it was working

and yet chose to get back in.

But because he was scared
or afraid,

they want to basically
replace that word,

that somehow, therefore,
after that,

by going back in the car,
that wasn't his own decision.

He chose to get in that car.

He chose
to breathe in the fumes.

There's no evidence
that Michelle Carter

has any physical actions
whatsoever in this case.

It was all of his
physical activity.

Did he get back in the car?
Yes.

But she was the cause of that,
Your Honor;

she ordered him back
in that car

knowing what would happen.

It's a new day and age,
Your Honor.

And the phones that we have now

allow you to be
virtually present with somebody.

People fall in love
on the Internet and via text.

People bully via text
and the Internet.

And you can encourage someone
to die via text

and you can commit a crime
via text.

She absolutely knew
what she was doing.

She absolutely knew it was wrong
and she absolutely

caused the death
of this 18-year-old boy.

And I ask you
to find her guilty.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

This world is sick today,
in my opinion.

No one has any morals.

Lack of character.

Uh. I just find it-- I just
find it very troubling today.

Because the right thing to do
would've been for her

to go get him help.

He wanted to get out of the car,
I believe. He did get out.

She told him to get back in,
quote, unquote, and do it.

I'm sorry but she--
she deserves manslaughter.

Absolutely.

I honestly think
it was foul what she did.

She really shouldn't
have done that.

I mean,
if you really love somebody

you don't encourage them
to kill themselves.

That's just--
That's absolutely crazy.

-It's kind of like murder.
-So, it's--

it's basically murder,
is how I see it in my eyes.

It's basically murder.

She was pretty much saying,
"Just do it."

WOMAN: But there's nothing
illegal about that.

And then--
And then didn't he stop,

and then she said,
"What are you doing?

Get back in the car.
You already have it all set up.

You know, just end it already."

WOMAN: Wow.

But that's more of
a moral thing, I think.

But there's nothing illegal
about it.

-No, there's actually
nothing wrong with it.
-No, no.

-She's not guilty.
She didn't do anything illegal.
-No. I wouldn't say that

-she didn't...
-What she did was wrong,

-but it's not illegal.
-That's like me telling you

to jump off a bridge. If you
jump off it, is it my fault?

MAN: Yeah.

She would've said to him,
"Jump-- Jump over the bridge."

He would've done it,
so therefore it's--

it is her fault.

MAN: How can this woman be held
responsible for something that

she in essence did not do

and he had free will
over his actions?

It's mind boggling to me.

If she was telling him to
rob a bank and he robbed a bank

is she responsible for this
when he went in and--

and did those actions
voluntarily? I-- I don't know.

I just don't see how you can,
uh, punish this girl

the rest of her life for this.

My wife and I talk about this
and, you know,

she thinks in one direction
and I think in the other.

That's 'cause we're married,
go figure.

She thinks it's more
the responsibility of the victim

than the responsibility of the--
the young lady, you know?

Uh. And I can see her point.

I think it was more immoral
or, uh, unethical, you know,

to not report that to somebody.

I don't know.
I guess it's on the judge,

how he's gonna--
how he's gonna rule it.

Certainly wouldn't want to
date her next. (CHUCKLES)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

MIKE MONTECALVO:
Breaking news:

The judge has reached a verdict

in the Michelle Carter
manslaughter trial.

NEWS ANCHOR: This is
a highly anticipated decision

of whether Michelle Carter
is guilty

of involuntary manslaughter
in her boyfriend,

Conrad Roy's death.

OFFICER 1: Come on,
get out of there.

-OFFICER 2: Come on.
-OFFICER 1: Get out of there.

REPORTER: Judge Lawrence Moniz

took just two days
to decide this.

He will announce
it at 11:00 AM.

(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)

REPORTER 2:
Michelle Carter's fate

now in the hands
of the judge,

who will render
the ultimate verdict.

REPORTER 3: And at the
center of this trial,

whether it's a crime to
tell someone to commit suicide.

Good afternoon, everyone.

COURTROOM OCCUPANTS:
Good afternoon, Your Honor.

JUDGE MONIZ:
The law does not require

that any explanation
as to a verdict be given.

Nonetheless, (CLEARS THROAT)
I am of the opinion

that some explanation of
my verdicts is warranted.

I have essentially divided
the evidence in this case

into three components.

The first component

comprises roughly the period
of June 29th, 2014

through the ending of
the text messages

between Miss Carter and Mr. Roy
on or about July 12th, 2014.

The second period commences
immediately thereafter,

through July 13th, 2014.

This court first finds

that the Commonwealth
has proven

beyond a reasonable doubt

that the actions taken
by Miss Carter

as to the period from June 30th
to July 12th

constituted wanton
and reckless conduct by her,

and serious disregard
of the well-being of Mr. Roy.

The Commonwealth has not proven,
as to that time period,

that said reckless
or wanton behavior

caused the death of Mr. Roy.

Mr. Roy was struggling
with his issues

and took significant actions
of his own.

He secured the generator.
He secured the water pump.

He researched how to fix
the generator.

He located his vehicle
in an unnoticeable area

and commenced his attempt
by starting the pump.

However, he breaks that chain
of self-causation

by exiting the vehicle.

He takes himself out of
the toxic environment

that it has become.

When Miss Carter realizes that
Mr. Roy has exited the truck,

she instructs him to get back
into the truck,

which she has reason to know
is or is becoming

a toxic environment
inconsistent with human life.

This court finds
where one's action

create a life-threatening risk
to another,

there is a duty
to take reasonable steps

to alleviate the risk.

The reckless failure
to fulfill this duty

can result in a charge
of manslaughter.

Knowing that Mr. Roy
is in the truck,

knowing the condition
of the truck,

Miss Carter takes no action

in the furtherance of the duty
that she has created

by instructing Mr. Roy
to get back into the truck.

Consequently, this court
has found that the Commonwealth

has proven
beyond a reasonable doubt

that Miss Carter's actions
and also her failure to act

where she had a self-created
duty to Mr. Roy,

constituted each and all
wanton and reckless conduct.

And this court further finds
that the Commonwealth

has proven
beyond a reasonable doubt

that said conduct
caused the death of Mr. Roy.

Miss Carter, please stand.

This court,
having reviewed the evidence

and applied the law thereto,

now finds you guilty
on the indictment charging you

with the involuntary
manslaughter

of the person Conrad Roy III.

You may be seated.

That verdict is now recorded
and it is in writing as well.

This matter will stand
continued to August 3rd

for a sentencing hearing.
Thank you very much.

COURT CLERK: All rise.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

Very, very disappointed
with the outcome,

however, because the case
is still pending,

beyond saying I'm disappointed,

I'm not gonna comment
any further, so, um,

thank you all.

REPORTER 1:
Do you have an appeal plan?

REPORTER 2:
Are you surprised though?

(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)

RAYBURN: Good afternoon.

Since we still have to return
to court

for the sentencing phase
of this case,

I will keep my comments brief.

Although we are very pleased
with the verdict,

in reality, there are no winners
here today.

Conrad, an 18-year-old boy,
is dead,

and the young woman--
a young woman is now convicted

of causing his death.

Two families have been
torn apart

and will be affected by this
for years to come.

This was a unique case
that dealt with

a lot of important issues
in our society today.

But in the end,
the case was really about

one young man
and one young woman

who were brought together
by tragic circumstances.

-(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, CLAMORING)

REPORTER 1: What do you want
the sentence to be?

REPORTER 1: What do you want
the sentence to be?

REPORTER 2: Are you satisfied
with what happened though?

Do you feel like you get
some relief?

REPORTER 3: Mr. Roy,
what kind of relief

are you feeling right now?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

-WOMAN: Come on.
-Careful behind you.

Reporter 4: Would you like
to say anything to the judge?

WOMAN: Justice for Conrad.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

REPORTER 5: Hey guys.
tell us how you feel?

No comment.

WOMAN: Come on,
get the door unlocked.

REPORTER 6: Can you tell us
what you think

about this verdict?

Can you just tell us what you
think about the verdict?

Do you feel like
justice was served here?

WOMAN: Watch out. Excuse me.

There are many, uh, verdicts
that you'll see,

whether I've been involved
in them or, you know,

many cases that I haven't
been involved, you'll say,

"Well, this prosecution really
has the law on their side.

They have the facts
on their side.

Uh, I don't think that
that was the case here.

I think, you know, people--

There are plenty of people
who are still

scratching their head,
thinking, "How is this a crime?"

How could the judge
do what he did

and find her guilty
on this evidence?

In rendering his verdict,
he went so far as to say

up until the point in time
that Conrad was in the truck

with the water pump going,
it was on Conrad Roy;

Michelle would not have
been found guilty.

Then it turned on a dime
and said, however,

when he got out of his truck,
she had a self-created duty,

knowing that he was getting
back into the car,

to prevent it when she
wasn't physically present.

Um, that's when it obviously
went downhill and that was, uh,

was somewhat of a surprise
to hear him saying that.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

BARRON: The huge question
at the heart of this case

is whether Michelle told Conrad
to get back in the truck.

It's a big question
because there's--

there's meta-data
for the phone calls.

But there's no recordings.

So, there's absolutely no way
to know whether

Michelle telling him
to get back in the truck

was an event that took place,
whether it was something

that she wanted people
to think had happened.

Whether it was like
a manifestation of her guilt.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

BARRON: Why did Michelle
wait two months

to tell Samantha Boardman,

"I told him to get back
in the truck"?

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

I don't think we can know that
Michelle's story is at all true.

It's not-- I don't think
it's a true story.

There's no text she said it.

There's no recording of
a phone that she said it.

Michelle frequently made
contradictory statements.

One of the most striking was
that she told her friends

that she had never had sex.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

Then she told a friend that
she had had sex with,

uh, Conrad.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS)

Then she told her friend
that Conrad had raped her.

That he had forced himself
on her.

(TEXT MESSAGE ALERT)

What's scary about Michelle's
description of being assaulted

is, uh, that her friends
don't believe her.

That there's a sense that,
like,

Michelle says some stuff
that's true

and some stuff that's not true
and everyone kind of knows it.

I didn't see the DA
bringing that up and saying,

"Well,
Michelle was raped by Conrad.

How do we know
she was raped by Conrad?

She actually told somebody
in a text."

The DA said again and again

she was a liar
who couldn't be trusted

because the DA was obsessed
with not making her sympathetic

without realizing she was
undermining her own case.

But this is the constant
twisting by the DA of data

so that it became impossible
to disentangle.

Most of America believes
that she

texted him this in writing.

NEWS ANCHOR:
According to prosecutors,

Carter even texting him to get
back in the truck

when he has second thoughts.

BREGGIN: And when I meet people
in airports

and I'd say to them, uh,

"Hey folks,
do you know about this--

this, uh, lady, uh, you know,

who supposedly told
her boyfriend to kill himself?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
She-- She texted her to death."

I said, "Would you believe

that there was never anything
written down?

We have no written record."

"No, Doc."

And people get mad.

They say things like
fake news again.

They we're just cherry picking
when to believe Michelle

and when not
to believe Michelle.

We are appealing the verdict,

and we'll appeal it
for as long as it takes.

To now treat this juvenile

as, uh, somebody who committed
a homicide,

I think is, uh, unfair, unjust
and illegal,

and I think eventually
the court system will see it.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

WOMAN: Here's Michelle
coming in right now.

WOMAN IN CROWD:

MAN IN CROWD: Keep your head up.
Love you, Michelle.

WOMAN IN CROWD:

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

MARYCLARE FLYNN: Your Honor,
the Commonwealth is asking

this court to impose a sentence
of not less than seven,

no more than 12 years
in state prison.

Your Honor,
as the evidence proved,

the facts in this case
are egregious.

There is no earthly reason
why Conrad Henri Roy

should not be here today
with his loving family,

enjoying life,

sharing his many gifts
with the world.

But he is not
and the reason he is not here

is the defendant,
Michelle Carter.

Her actions killed Conrad Roy.

She ended his life
to better her own.

For all of these reasons,
Your Honor,

the Commonwealth respectfully
asks this court

to impose our recommendation.
Thank you.

JUDGE MONIZ:
Thank you, Miss Flynn.

Who speaks for the defendant?

Mr. Cataldo, do you have
any evidence to present?

Um, Your Honor,
I will summarize by saying,

as this court is well aware,

we're guided with the idea
in the juvenile justice system

that the goal is not punitive
but yet rehabilitative.

Miss Carter was 17 years old
at the time.

We have a body of law from both
the United States Supreme Court

as well as the SJC

about the adolescent
brain development,

what a court can consider
on sentencing.

And there is a clear body
that says

adolescents are not as culpable
as full-grown adults.

Miss Carter will have to live
with the consequences of this

for the rest of her life,

with the publicity
that this case has gained.

Um, that will be substantial.

Um, I think treatment
is appropriate

in this particular case
for Miss Carter.

Miss Carter does regret
what happened.

She also sent a letter
to the probation department

where she accepts responsibility
for her actions, her words,

her letter.
The court has reviewed all this.

Your Honor, I suggest that she
is not a danger to the public

and in the remedial system,
the juvenile system, uh,

probation is appropriate.
Thank you very much, Your Honor.

JUDGE MONIZ:
Thank you very much.

COURT CLERK: All rise.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

COURT CLERK:
This court is now in session.

Be seated please. No talking
while court's in session.

JUDGE MONIZ: You need to
understand, all of you,

that this court has not
nor should it

allow any emotional response
to this case to enter

into its determinations
in any way.

Everyone is entitled to
a decision devoid of any emotion

with respect to this case.

Now I know that there has been
significant media coverage

of this case.

I assure you
that I have steadfastly avoided

any of that.

But by the end of today
people will wonder why

what has happened has happened.

People may wonder
why all of this has happened.

I have not found

that Miss Carter's age
or level of maturity

or even her mental illness

have any significant impact
on her actions.

She was a bright young lady,
did well in school,

and I am satisfied that she
was mindful of the actions

for which she now stands
convicted.

On the other hand,

even if the age
and the maturity level

of the person at the time that
they have committed the crime

doesn't gre-- doesn't garner
a great deal of significance,

the fact that they are still
of that young age

offers a greater promise
of rehabilitation.

Miss Carter, please stand.

Miss Carter, a guilty finding
having entered on the indictment

charging you with
the involuntary manslaughter

of Conrad Roy III

now sentences you to
two and a half years

in the Bristol County
House of Correction.

Fifteen months of said sentence

shall be deemed
a committed sentence

and the balance thereof
shall be suspended

until August 1st of 2022.

That is the sentence
of the court. You may be seated.

Mr. Cataldo,
do you wish to be heard?

I do, Your Honor.

-May I approach?
-JUDGE MONIZ: You may.

CATALDO: Your Honor,
what I have just filed

is a motion to stay
the execution of the sentence.

JUDGE MONIZ: All right, let me
take a look at it please.
CATALDO: Okay, thank you.

(INAUDIBLE)

JUDGE MONIZ:
I guess we have all

come to know each other
a little bit.

I anticipated this motion,
Mr. Cataldo,

and I took some significant time

to review the case
of Commonwealth versus Hodge.

which is found at 380 Mass 851.

The conviction may be reversible

but the time spent in prison
is not.

I am satisfied that there is
an issue worthy of presentation

to the appellate court.
In fact, this court

believes that the wisdom
of the appellate court

will be of instruction now
and going forward.

I don't know what
the appeals court will do.

I don't know if it goes
to the SJC,

what the SJC will do.

But I am satisfied
that a grant of a stay

through the Massachusetts
court system only

is warranted.

This order will not encompass
anything with respect

to the federal system.

Is there anything further,
Mr. Cataldo or Mr. Madeira?

One minute please.

(INAUDIBLE)

We're all set. Thank you.

JUDGE MONIZ:
And we are adjourned.

Thank you very much.

COURT CLERK: All rise.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

I don't understand how
a month ago

it's a guilty verdict
giving the family hope

that there might be some type
of justice,

to just have her go home tonight
and have a nice meal.

I just don't get it.
Like I said,

it's saying to me...
I don't have a law degree,

I don't have... But it saying
as long I'm under 18,

I can bully anyone.

REPORTER:
Are you pleased with the stay?

Very much so, yes. Yes.

BARRON: You have to remember,

people were totally split
about this case.

So, the reason that it's
so interesting to me,

the-- like, the difference
between the conviction

and the sentencing,

is that it expresses
the complete kind of craziness

that this case drives people to
in terms of trying to come up

with, like,
one objective conclusion

of what should happen
to Michelle Carter.

REPORTER: If this appeal lingers
to 2022,

conceivably she will never
serve time in jail?

Conceivably, yes.

BARRON:
It's like you were responsible,

it was involuntary
manslaughter.

But you can basically never go
to jail?

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

I would be surprised
if she serves time.

JUDGE MONIZ: I have reviewed

the Commonwealth's motion

and have considered
the arguments

just presented to the court.

The court now allows
the Commonwealth's motion

to revoke the stay of sentence.

Miss Carter will now be taken
into custody.

JUDGE MONIZ:
This matter is adjourned.

Thank you very much.

COURT CLERK: All rise.

(DOOR SLAMS)

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