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School Shooter’s Mother Sentenced to Jail

Pablo del Rio

A Michigan mother is facing a potential 60-year prison sentence after being convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. The charges stem from her teenage son's school shooting in 2021, where he killed four students. The son, Ethan, had already pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges in October 2022. He received a life sentence for killing four classmates at Oxford High School. Now, Jennifer Crumbley has been found guilty under Michigan law; it requires parents to prevent their children from causing harm to others. The father, James, is set to face his own involuntary manslaughter trial in March.

NPR

They were charged after it was revealed that the couple had purchased the gun used by their son just days before the shooting. The prosecution argued that Jennifer Crumbley negligently stored the gun and ammunition used in the shooting, asserting that she and her husband were aware of Ethan's deteriorating mental state but allowed him access to firearms.

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Messages between Ms. Crumbley and a man with whom she was having an affair with, revealed that she was worried about her son potentially doing "something dumb" before school on the day of the shooting but did nothing about it. During her trial defense testimony, Jennifer shifted blame on her husband as he was allegedly responsible for securing the firearm, nonetheless, the jury still found her criminally responsible for the deaths.


This groundbreaking verdict has raised questions about parental responsibility in the context of criminal actions committed by their children and could have far-reaching implications for the U.S. criminal justice system. Legal experts have expressed varying opinions on the impact this one verdict will have. Detroit-based criminal lawyer Michael Bullotta criticized it as an "overreach," arguing against the idea of holding parents criminally responsible for their children's actions. 


Similarly, Stephen J Morse, a professor of law and psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, said that Ethan Crumbley's guilty plea indicated that he alone was responsible for the shooting. "I understand that she was not necessarily the best mother in the world, but this is not a crime," he remarked. Mr. Morse expressed concern that the decision might establish an unfavorable precedent, leading courts to seek "scapegoats" in comparable situations.

US Today

On the other side, law professor Ekow N. Yankah from the University of Michigan believes it could engender future convictions, but only in extraordinary cases. However, a big part of the general public praised the jury's decision. 


Unfortunately, some legal experts believe that the potential precedent set by this verdict may lead to potential overreach and could disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.They anticipate prosecutors leveraging this precedent to pressure defendants into guilty pleas, potentially affecting marginalized communities due to a lack of access to legal guidance.






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