2024-04-11 11:37:05
The parents of a Michigan teenager who opened a mass shooting at a school in 2021 and killed 4 people will serve 10 to 15 years in prison. This is the first time in American history that the parents of a school shooter will be behind bars for their child’s crime. The sentence came weeks after a court found them guilty of manslaughter.
Their son was 15 when he killed four students with a semi-automatic pistol at Oxford High School. Seven others were injured in the shooting. Ethan Crumbley is already serving a life sentence without parole.
On Tuesday, Judge Cheryl Matthews announced the sentence. “Parents are not expected to be mediums. But these sentences are not for bad parenting,” she said in the courtroom. “They refer to actions that could have stopped a runaway train,” Matthews concluded, assuring the parents of the slain children who spoke earlier that she had heard and seen every detail. She said she was giving the defendants longer sentences “to act as a deterrent” and reflect their failure to prevent the attack.
Attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley had pushed for a reduced sentence. The accused expressed regret for what their son had done. “I can’t express how much I wish I knew what was going on with him or what would have happened because I would have done a lot of things differently,” the shooter’s father said. The mother pointed out that they were the epitome of a normal family and this tragedy could have happened to anyone. She apologized to the parents of the dead. She didn’t ask for their forgiveness because she knew she wouldn’t get it.
The Crumbleys are eligible for parole after serving 10 years, and the pair will not be held for more than 15 years.
During the sentencing, prosecutors said James Crumbley, the gunman’s father, had shown “a complete lack of remorse.” They allege he made death threats against the lead prosecutor in the case during a jailhouse conversation.
Prosecutors argued that Jennifer and James dismissed clear signs that their son’s mental health had deteriorated, and noted that the parents bought Ethan Crumbley the gun he used in the 2021 attack. What’s more, the mother was a staunch defender of gun ownership. The father, on the other hand, kept one in their home, with which he practically ensured easy access for Ethan.
During Tuesday’s trial, Nicole Beausoleil, mother of 17-year-old victim Madisyn Baldwin, addressed Ethan Crumbley’s parents directly. “When you were buying a gun for your son and leaving it unlocked, I was helping her finish her college essay,” the victim’s mother said through tears. “You decided that parenting was not a priority and because of that I lost my daughter,” she added.