Anger over sentencing of woman guilty of urging partner’s suicide

Earlier this summer, a 20-year-old woman in Massachusetts was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after a judge ruled that she had encouraged her suicidal boyfriend to take his own life.

Michelle Carter, whose boyfriend Conrad Roy III took his own life in 2014, waived her right to a jury which ultimately gave Judge Lawrence Moniz the right to rule as he saw fit given the evidence presented in the case.

And this week, Michelle was sentenced to two-and-a-half years probation meaning she will not have to go to prison immediately, and may never spend time behind bars if her state appeals are ruled successful.

Dismayed by the judge's ruling in the controversial case, Roy's cousin, Makenna O'Donnell, expressed her feelings on Good Morning America.

"I was just sick to my stomach [at] the fact that she can just be free and my cousin, he's not here. Two-and-a-half years isn't enough," she insisted. "It's not enough. She should be behind bars."

The judge heard that Carter has sent her boyfriend a barrage of text messages encouraging him to take his own life, even going as far as to order him back into the vehicle when he changed his mind about using it to inhale carbon monoxide fumes.

The case was the first of its kind, and it was believed that Carter could face up to 20 years in prison – something which Conrad's cousin addressed on television.

"I just don't understand how somebody can be free, knowing that she deliberately told [Roy] to get back in the car," Makenna said.

"She gets to sleep in her own bed tonight. She gets to wake up with her family, meanwhile, where's Conrad? Where's Conrad? He's watching us from up above, he's not gonna be here anymore."

Speaking to CBS, Roy's mother Lynn said she hopes her son's death leads to the creation of new laws.