May or may not be a popular opinion, but here goes. I don't have any legal background, so anyone who does is certainly welcome to educate me on specific nuances of the law pertaining to this opinion.

Earlier this year, Michelle Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for urging her boyfriend to kill herself - a judgement which was, if I remember correctly, very well-received on Reddit. Furthermore, there is somewhat of a legal precedent for my opinion in particular. In 2013, two girls were charged with third degree felony aggravated stalking.

So it is not without precedent that people have been indicted for violent actions that have lead to suicide, but I believe this should be expanded. For example, suppose there is an individual (who I'll call person A) who, whether verbal, physical, or otherwise, bullies another (person B) in a workplace. B kills him/herself either partially or completely because of this bullying. It is my opinion that A should be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Involuntary manslaughter involves the unlawful killing of another individual through negligent or reckless behavior. Bullying or other violent acts, in my opinion, falls into this category because there is a precedent for people to commit suicide due to these behaviors.

In order to be successfully convicted, it must be shown in court that

1. A perpetrated violent or bullying actions against B.
2. It was known that B had, or showed signs of, a mental illness such as depression which tends to elicit actions of self-harm.
3. A's actions caused or significantly contributed to B's mental illness.
4. B's death is ruled a suicide.

My opinion has a few nuances (in no particular order):

1. It has been shown that depression can cloud another's judgement. While it may be technically possible for B to escape the actions of A by, for example, filing a restraining order against A, that B's depression clouded his/her judgement and made him/her feel hopeless. This is ultimately what leads to suicide. Since A is at least partially responsible for B's depression, then A is also partially responsible for B's suicide, even though A did not intend for B's suicide.

2. The presence of a suicide note, or other notes such as posts on social media citing the violent actions of A can be admitted as evidence that A actually perpetrated such actions and that these actions caused or significantly contributed to B's mental illness.

3. B's mental illness does not necessarily need to be diagnosed in order to achieve a conviction. B's friends, family, or coworkers can testify to behaviors that may indicate such an illness. My reason for believing this is because many mental illnesses go un-diagnosed, and I dont know of any way that such a diagnosis can be achieved post-mortum. If B DID have a diagnosis, however, it would certainly help the prosecution's case if B's mental health professional testified.

4. If A tells B to commit suicide, this is certainly a bullying action that might contribute to B's mental illness, but such a statement is unnecessary to achieve a conviction. A can contribute to B's mental illness without telling him/her to commit suicide.

5. Non-violent actions, such as A breaking up with B, causing B to commit suicide, should obviously NOT be evidence.

6. I understand that some people may commit suicide and cite "fake" actions against the perpetrator. In order to prevent this, it would probably be wise to require additional testimonies.

That's all I have for now.