Amanda Knox On Michelle Carter: 'Deserves Sympathy And Help, Not Prison'

The woman convicted of pushing her boyfriend to suicide by texting him to kill himself has the support of another woman once involved in a high-profile trial - Amanda Knox.

Knox, who spent four years in an Italian prison for the murder of a fellow exchange student before she was acquitted, wrote in a LA Times op-ed that Michelle Carter was wrongfully convicted of involuntary manslaughter and should receive help, not a prison sentence.

"Involuntary manslaughter is when a drunk driver crashes into another vehicle, when a gunman shoots at tin cans in his suburban backyard, when a carnival ride operator fails to ensure that all passengers are strapped in, and as a result an innocent person dies. Encouraging your boyfriend to follow through with his own death wish should not qualify," she wrote.

READ MORE

• Michelle Carter Gets Jail Time In Texting Suicide Case
• Michelle Carter Guilty In Texting Suicide Case
• Michelle Carter Trial: Judge Hears Closing Arguments
• Conrad Roy Suicide Note To Michelle Carter Released
• Michelle Carter On Boyfriend's Suicide: 'I Could Have Stopped Him'
• Michelle Carter Murder Case: Attorneys Give Opening Statements
• Police Say High School Student Pressured Boyfriend into Committing Suicide

Thursday, Carter was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, with 15 months to serve and five years probation for her role in the death of her boyfriend Conrad Roy. She is allowed to remain free while her case works its way through the state appeals process.

On July 12, 2014, Roy died in the parking lot of the Fairhaven Kmart from carbon monoxide fumes from a gas-powered water pump. Texts between the two show a then-17-year-old Carter spending days encouraging Roy to end his life and telling him to get back into the truck when he began to have second thoughts.

Knox accused the media of painting Carter as a “femme fatale,” writing about the déjà vu she felt while watching the trial. Defending the Plainville resident, she pointed to texts where Carter advised Roy to seek help and avoid self-harm.

During the trial, the prosecution presented texts from Carter to Roy which state, "You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t.”

After Roy's death, Carter texted to another person "I could have 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 (expletive) told him to get back in,” and "They read my messages with him. I’m done. His family will hate me and I could go to jail."

Concerning the idea of sympathy, Knox wrote, "Just because it’s hard to feel sympathy and understanding, that doesn’t mean it isn’t the right — and just — thing to do. Conrad Roy III needed our sympathy and our help and didn’t get it in time. Michelle Carter deserves the same sympathy and help now."

Image credit: Matt West/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool