Is Michelle Carter Now in Jail? Update on Her Life After Texting Suicide Conviction

HBO’s new documentary I Love You, Now Die, follows the death of Conrad Roy III, 18, and the slew of texts his girlfriend Michelle Carter sent encouraging the teen to commit suicide. In 2014, 17-year-old Michelle was charged with involuntary manslaughter after her boyfriend was found dead in his pickup truck from carbon monoxide poisoning.  

Leading up to his suicide, text exchanges were found, revealing Michelle told Conrad, “You keep pushing it off and say you’ll do it, but u never do. It’s always gonna be that way if u don’t take action.” She even sent him a list of potential suicide methods. So, did Michelle Carter ever go to jail? 

In 2017, Michelle was sentenced to 15 months in prison for her involvement in Conrad’s suicide. However, she appealed the sentence and was allowed to remain out of jail after her lawyer argued that the teen had no prior convictions or criminal history. 

This past February, the conviction was upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. “She convinced him to get back into the carbon monoxide filled truck, she did absolutely nothing to help him: she did not call for help or tell him to get out of the truck as she listened to him choke and die," Justice Scott Kafker wrote in the Supreme Judicial Court ruling. 

Earlier this month, Michelle filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. Her lawyers argued that the now 22-year-old’s conviction of involuntary manslaughter is a violation against her First Amendment right to free speech.  

Michelle entered Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth in February and is currently serving her 15-month sentence. Radar Online reported that she is working a job in the jail that could help reduce her sentence. “She has a job in the kitchen or the laundry, inside the female part of the jail,” Bristol County Sheriff spokesman Jonathan Darling told the outlet. 

He added, “For every month you work you can earn 5-10 days taken off your sentence.” Darling also noted that Michelle has been a “model” inmate. “She’s been polite to staff and other inmates,” he said. “She is getting along with the other inmates in her unit. We haven’t had any issues with her now.” 

The HBO documentary I Love You, Now Die is not meant to sway viewers to one side or the other regarding the court’s decision to convict Michelle. Instead, director Erin Lee Carr makes a valid argument for both cases and discusses the topics of social media and mental health. 

“I wanted this film — and it’s literally structured like this — to act as a jury for this case,” she explained in an interview with Marie Claire.“You have the prosecutor side of the story, that’s episode one. And you have the defense side of the story, which is episode two.” 

She added: “At the end, I want you to argue with whoever you watched it with or the internet about what should be done. Yes, she’s in jail, but the case will set precedent, so it’s important to look at it very closely.”

You can now stream I Love You, Now Die on HBO.