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More than 200 years ago, a prisoner in Massachusetts named George Bowen told the man in a neighboring cell to kill himself – and he did. Although Bowen was acquitted for murder, it created the legal precedent to try similar cases. Last week, Michelle Carter was found guilty of manslaughter in a Massachusetts court for encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide via text messages. But, says legal scholar David Rossman of Boston University, while the conviction may be well founded, it could have a chilling effect on
adult professionals giving advice in end-of-life decisions.
Many are wondering whether the New York Public Theater production of “Julius Caesar” – which casts Donald Trump as Caesar – is in good taste. But, says Michigan State English professor Jyotsna G. Singh, Shakespeare’s Caesar was a complicated character – neither good nor evil. To Singh, the contentious debates about the Public Theater production “would have delighted Shakespeare,” who had England’s own 16th century political turmoil in mind when penning his masterpiece.
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Michelle Carter after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
AP/ Glenn C. Silva
David Rossman, Boston University
When do words at an end-of-life decision constitute a crime? A law professor explains why lawmakers should act to clear up the gray area that remains.
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Science + Technology
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Chapurukha Kusimba, American University
Currency first hit the scene thousands of years ago. An anthropologist explains the early origins and uses of money – and how archaeological finds fill in our picture of the past.
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Pradeep Atrey, University at Albany, State University of New York
Fifty years after the first ATM went into service, the main problem – identifying authorized users – remains the same. But methods for doing so have improved significantly.
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