UPDATE: Herring pled guilty to murder on July 6, 2017. She faces a minimum of 55 years in prison. A sentencing hearing that could last up to five days may take place in October. (This was a tentative trial date for Herring, accused of murdering a social worker and three relatives in Vermont.)

Michelle Carter is to be sentenced today. She faces up to 20 years. On June 16, 2017, a Massachusetts judge convicted 20-year-old Michelle Carter of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The encouragement was via text messages. Carter waived her right to trial by jury and opted for the judge to decide.

The preliminary hearing against a Penn State University fraternity and 18 students for the hazing death of a student last February continues today and into tomorrow, if necessary. The hearing was begun in June and adjourned to today.

The second-degree murder trial of Angelika Graswald was scheduled to begin today. She was accused of letting her fiance drown in the Hudson River when his kayak took on water. Did she intentionally not assist him so he wouldn't drown? The State says she admitted to acts that created a risk to Vincent Viafore's life but the defense says she made false admissions. Viafore drowned on April 19, 2015. His body was found more than a month later in the Hudson River in update New York State. If convicted, Graswald faced 25 years to life in prison. UPDATE: On July 24, 2017, Graswald pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide, a low level felony that carried 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison. She should be out by December.