Using appraisal theory and the texts of Michelle Carter to assist in developing a means of analysing evidence in encouraged suicide cases

Abstract

On 13 July 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Henri Roy III committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Conrad’s girlfriend, Michelle Carter, was accused of encouraging his suicide through a series of text messages and a phone call insisting Conrad ‘get back in the car’ which was filling with carbon monoxide; she was eventually found guilty on charges of involuntary manslaughter, a charge which sparked discussion around the lack of encouraged suicide legislation. This article examines the text messages between Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy and asks what we can learn from them for the purpose of designing analytical frameworks for courtroom evidence in cases of encouraged suicide. Using the attitude sub-system of appraisal analysis, Carter’s evaluation of emotive states, judgement of Roy’s character and level of value awarded to certain concepts are considered alongside how these appraisals may have been employed to elicit a persuasion response.