On Tuesday, the parents of the adolescent from Michigan who fatally shot four classmates will be sentenced, bringing an end to a landmark criminal case.
James and Jennifer Crumbley have each been sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter.
They neglected their son’s mental health and purchased the firearm he used in the 2021 attack, according to the verdict of the jury.
It is believed that this is the first-time parents of children responsible for catastrophic shootings have been held liable.
At Oxford High School, their son Ethan, then 15 years old, used a semi-automatic weapon to kill pupils Tate Myre, 16, Hana St Juliana, 14, Justin Shilling, 17, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17.
Additionally, seven others were injured in the gunfire.
He is presently a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors charged the Crumbleys in both trials with negligence and disregard for the peril posed by Ethan, as well as with permitting him to possess a firearm.
The two individuals purchased the firearm that their son fired days prior to the tragic incident.
Ultimately, it was determined that each person had committed four acts of involuntary manslaughter—one for each student whose kid had been killed.
The families of the victims are anticipated to make statements during Tuesday’s sentencing.
Although the maximum term for each charge is fifteen years, the penalties will probably be served consecutively.
After the shooting, the Crumbleys were charged by the police, but they didn’t show up for their trial, so the police had to go on the run in order to find them.
Eventually, thanks to a tip from the public, police located the two in a Detroit industrial area.
The Crumbleys’ defense attorneys urged mercy before to the sentencing.
Shannon Smith, Jennifer Crumbley’s attorney, even made the extremely uncommon offer to let her live in a guest house, claiming that her imprisonment “does nothing to protect society” and that she had “suffered significantly” since the incident.
Actually, she’s lost everything,” wrote Ms. Smith. Also, she carries extra baggage from her son’s terrible deeds and constantly questions the decisions she made as a parent.
In a similar vein, James Crumbley’s lawyer, Mariell Lehman, contended that his client could not have known his son’s motivations.
However, the prosecution claimed that his foul-mouthed phone conversations from the jail, some of which included threats against them, demonstrate a “complete lack of regret.
The prosecutor claimed that he placed the responsibility for what occurred on everyone except himself.
The Crumbleys chose to go to work on the day of the shooting rather than take their kid home after interrupting a school meeting to discuss a troubling picture their son had taken.
Later, he was sent back to class by school officials without having had a chance to examine his rucksack, which contained the rifle his parents had bought.
The choice to permit Ethan to return to class was one of several suspected violations by the educational system, according to an independent study that was released last year.
The school district has promised to examine and enhance its procedures and guidelines in response.