For the first time in history, parents of a school shooter have been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to prison. Jennifer and James Crumbley, parents of Oxford High School shooter, have each been sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. Their son, Ethan, gunned down four students at his school in Michigan. His parents were found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, in a precedent setting case that will, hopefully, set in motion the ability for prosecutors and the courts to hold parents of school shooters accountable if their child commits a similar crime.
During the course of the trial, the parents were shown to be inattentive, reckless, unloving and selfish. They put their own needs over their son's, and when faced with the reality of just how mentally ill and dangerous their son was, they chose to buy him a gun and refused to take him to much needed therapy.
The judge told the parents that "each action or inaction created a ripple effect" and that the prison sentences she had handed down are "in the best interests of justice and are reasonable and proportionate."
She went on to say: "parents are not expected to be psychic, but these convictions are not about poor parenting. These convictions confirm repeated acts, or lack of acts, that could have halted an oncoming runaway train -- about repeatedly ignoring things that would make a reasonable person feel the hair on the back of their neck. Guidelines in this manner do not capture of the catastrophic impact of the acts or in the action. And in these matters, the guidelines do not take into account the complete lack of insight both defendants have for their behavior to this very day."
They have already been in prison for 858 days, almost 2 1/2 years. That time will be deducted from their sentence. In addition to prison time, they are not allowed to have any contact with the families of the victims.
While listening to the heartbreaking victim impact statements from the parents and siblings of the four victims, James Crumbley was seen wiping tears away. Jennifer Crumbley appeared more stoic and unemotional, which matched her testimony. During her trial she actually said she "would not have done anything differently."
Grotesque.
The parents faced up to 15 years on each count, so realistically they could have been sentenced to 60 years. But, as first time offenders, that was never going to happen. Prosecutors asked for 10 to 15 years. Sentencing guidelines only called for seven years.
Prosecutors did not feel that was enough, saying in the sentencing memo the following: "Considering the guidelines, what those guidelines do and do not account for, and the objectives of sentencing, the severity of the circumstances in this case and defendant's total lack of remorse warrant a sentence that exceeds the applicable guidelines range. A sentence of 10 to 15 years' imprisonment is proportionate to these offenses and this offender."
Jennifer Crumbley's attorneys requested time served and house arrest, which was never going to happen. James Crumbley's attorneys also asked for time served and supervised release.
No matter what sentence was handed down, the families of Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling will never get closure. But at least the Crumbleys will serve a decade in prison (less with time served and good behavior) and their son already pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree premeditated murder and terrorism causing death, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2021.
That entire family should rot in prison.
