The following sad story caught my attention \u2014 for its unique, potential legal precedent \u2014 and \u2014 for its broader application\u2026<\/p>\n
A young Massachusetts woman, Michelle Carter, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was found guilty Friday of involuntary manslaughter in the suicidal death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Both struggled with depression, and Roy had prior suicide attempts. And when Roy was set to attempt it again, he had stepped out of his truck filled with carbon monoxide, but was in touch with Carter, who encouraged him to get back in.<\/p>\n
The case, as noted by observing legal experts, hinged primarily on hundreds of text messages between the two. For example:<\/p>\n
Carter:<\/strong> \u201cIf you want it as bad as you say you do, it\u2019s time to do it today.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roy:<\/strong> \u201cYup. No more waiting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Carter:<\/strong> \u201cOkay. I\u2019m serious. Like you can\u2019t even wait \u2018till tonight. You have to do it when you get back from your walk.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In a trial where the 6th Amendment\u2019s right to a jury was waived, the judge held those words against Michelle Carter. Said the judge, “She admits in … texts that she did nothing; she did not call the police or Mr. Roy’s family. And, finally, she did not issue a simple additional instruction: get out of the truck.”<\/p>\n Her words were viewed as a weapon.<\/p>\n As I ponder the tragedy of the families involved above, I can\u2019t help but focus on that perspective: her words were used as a weapon. The court saw it as such. Said Massachusetts ACLU lawyer, Matthew Segal: \u201cThis is saying that what she did is killing him, that her words literally killed him, that the murder weapon here was her words.\u201d<\/p>\n Pause here for a moment.<\/p>\n Think not simply of our teens and tweens.<\/p>\n Think of us.<\/p>\n How many times have we seen on social media especially (where it\u2019s easier to boldly rant without looking your audience in the eye)<\/em> where we use our words as a weapon? Where we rant, rave, insult, judge, assert how evil or idiotic another is, or tell someone to go [expletive-inserted-here]<\/em> themselves?\u2028\u2028 We<\/strong> \u2014 not just our teens \u2014 are using our words as a weapon.<\/p>\n Friends, using words as a weapon doesn\u2019t make another want to be like us. Beating another up with a vicious, rhetorical two-by-four is not an effective means of winning friends and influencing people. Beating them up only injures further.<\/p>\n Said international speaker and author Yehuda Berg:<\/p>\n \u201cWords are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In other words, whether on Facebook or face-to-face, we have a choice in how to use our words. We can use them to build up or tear down. We can use them to affirm or insult. We can use them to reflect upon self or point fingers at another. The wisdom in our words depends on how we use them.<\/p>\n As Michelle Carter awaits an August sentencing, there is no doubt her situation is a sad story with no easy answers. It\u2019s heartbreaking. Unfortunately, what\u2019s currently playing out on social media and elsewhere \u2014 between adults not necessarily suffering from depression \u2014 is also, often, equally sad.<\/p>\n May we use our words wisely… always.<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026 The following sad story caught my attention \u2014 for its unique, potential legal precedent \u2014 and \u2014 for its broader application\u2026 A young Massachusetts woman, Michelle Carter, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was found guilty Friday of involuntary manslaughter in the suicidal death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Both struggled … <\/p>\n
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"