Which is a good reason to try to get prosecutions based on thoughts is a horrible idea. (he wasnt convicted of manslaughter - theres a reason he wasnt, he didnt make the person do what they did and he didnt assist them in it) Another bad comparison.
However, under thought crimes - you could be held accountable one day for saying homosexuality is wrong if someone listened to you and killed themselves, in fact the bible could be made illegal, since it points out sin and someone might kill themselves, right?
Where can you show this girl tormented him, you cant, you also cant prove it was her idea for him to commit suicide, since his own family admits he had tried before he even knew her. Which is why he was on antidepressants. And you cannot prove she made him do it or knew he was actually doing it since you cant prove her thinking.
Do you really want to set a precedent for everyone else being responsible for what an individual decides to do themselves?
Agreed: No, I don't.
However: She is not being charged with premeditated murder, but with involuntary manslaughter.
She was not responsible for his being suicidal,
but at that moment in time she was the only one on earth who knew he was in back of the KMart preparing to gas himself in his car. She needed to call 911, and tell them to check it out, if he was really there, doing that. Nothing more. There was a case where a 15 year old girl saw her friend being sexually attacked by 2 males at a party, and she did nothing. They were considering charging her, because in our society you are expected to call 911. Nothing more. Even though this kid had attempted suicide numerous times and his parents knew this, at that moment she was the only one who knew it was in progress.
Here’s Why This Teen Is Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter After Her Boyfriend’s Suicide
She faces up to 20 years in jail for allegedly "strongly influenc[ing]" his decision.
by deepa lakshmin 3/3/2015
Last Sunday we covered the upsetting news of a teen girl, Michelle Carter, who allegedly coaxed her boyfriend, 18-year-old Conrad Roy III, into committing suicide. On July 13, 2014 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Roy apparently died by suicide inside his truck, where police later found his body and his cell phone.
I
nvestigators discovered that Carter exchanged over 1,000 texts with him before his death. The Bristol District Attorney’s office believes these texts “strongly influenced” Roy’s actions that night. It’s important to note Roy’s family reported that he had previously shown signs of depression and emotional struggles, which may have left him more open to suggestion.
“It is alleged that Ms. Carter had firsthand knowledge of Roy’s suicidal thoughts,” the district attorney’s office told CBS affiliate WBZ. “Instead of attempting to assist him or notify his family or school officials, Ms. Carter is alleged to have strongly influenced his decision to take his own life, encouraged him to commit suicide and guided him in his engagement of activities which led to his death.”
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There seems to be some confusion about what exactly constitutes involuntary manslaughter, so we asked criminal defense attorney Daniel Perlman, who has not worked on Roy and Carter’s case, to clarify. He told us he is “puzzled” by the involuntary charge as well.
“There’s never an affirmative obligation to come to someone’s aid but here … this is someone who knows that they’re dealing with [someone] who’s very fragile and emotional, who’s thinking about and actually trying to kill themselves,” Perlman said. “She was actually telling him to do it [and] how to do it, according to these sources.”
http://www.mtv.com/news/2094094/girl-boyfriend-suicide-involuntary-manslaughtercharge/
lain: Use of 'friend' in any way seems inappropriate.