The fate of Michelle Carter, who allegedly encouraged her boyfriend Conrad Roy III to suicide, will be sealed Friday as the Bristol Juvenile Court announces its verdict. The 20-year-old Massachusetts woman is facing involuntary manslaughter charges for coaxing 18-year-old Roy into killing himself in 2014.

Judge Lawrence Moniz is deliberating whether to convict Carter in Roy's death. There is no jury because Carter chose not to have one for her trial. If Moniz finds Carter guilty, it could set a legal precedent in Massachusetts, as the state does not have a law against abetting suicide. This is the reason why the case is being closely monitored by legal scholars. If convicted, Carter could face up to 20 years in prison.

“What [Carter’s] defense team is trying to say is that texts are protected speech, and that, although this is a tragedy, they believe that it is not a crime,” People Magazine's senior editor Alicia Dennis said.

Read: Conrad Roy III's Phone Had Apology Messages From Girlfriend Sent After His Suicide

Carter’s attorney Joseph Cataldo, who tried unsuccessfully to convince the state’s Supreme Court to dismiss charges against her, argued Roy would have killed himself with or without Carter's help. But prosecutors said the suicide was the end result of a “sick game” Carter allegedly played with Roy’s life, just so she could get sympathy by becoming a “grieving girlfriend.”

“She was not physically there at the scene,” Dennis said. “But they could prove that she was emotionally there, because she definitely texted him a lot and was on the phone with him — even telling him to get back into the truck when he was wavering during the suicide.”

Larry Cunningham, a former prosecutor and vice dean at St. John’s University School of Law in New York, told the magazine: “What’s going to make this case difficult is the fact that the assistance was verbal rather than physical. The question is: What was her role in the suicide?”

Roy died by suicide in the summer of 2014 by using carbon monoxide from a truck’s exhaust system to poison himself. Prosecutors said Carter encouraged Roy to kill himself and told him through text messages to use a generator and carbon dioxide during his suicide attempt.

“Roy was emotionally vulnerable, and of course his parents were very involved in his life and what was going on, but they didn’t know about these dark texts,” Dennis said. “And when a kid’s 18, parents wonder, ‘Should I be looking at their texts? Is that a privacy thing for them?’” she continued. “And I think it’s raising a lot of questions with parents.”

Read: What’s Next For Girl Who Encouraged Boyfriend’s Suicide

During the final part of the hearing Tuesday, a suicide note written by Roy to Carter was released.

“Keep strong in tough times,” read the letter from Roy, obtained by MassLive. “You taught me how to be strong and carry on. This life has been too challenging and troublesome to me but I’ll forever be in your heart and we will meet up someday in Heaven. Put your best foot forward. You’ll get there, I’m sorry about everything. I am messed up I guess. I wish I could express my gratitude but I feel brain dead. I love you and greatly appreciate ur effort and kindness towards me. Keep your heart healthy and keep pushing forward.”

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