Worthy Christian News > US News > Parents of Michigan School Shooter Sentenced to 10 to 15 Years in Prison

Parents of Michigan School Shooter Sentenced to 10 to 15 Years in Prison

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

PONTIAC, USA (Worthy News) – Jennifer and James Crumbley, whose son killed four people in 2021 in the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. state of Michigan’s history, each face up to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors had asked for at least ten years. Still, Tuesday’s conviction left open the possibility for a longer time following emotional impact statements in court from family members of those who died.

They are the first parents to be held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting committed by their child at a time when the nation continues to grapple with gunfire incidents at campuses.

On Tuesday, each spoke in the hearing before the judge pronounced the sentence.

“I stand today not to ask for your forgiveness, as I know it may be beyond reach, but to express my sincerest apologies for the pain that has been caused,” Jennifer Crumbley said in court, addressing the relatives of students who were killed.

James Crumbley also apologized. “I cannot express how much I wish that I had known what was going on with him or what was going to happen because I absolutely would have done a lot of things differently,” he said.

Yet their remarks did little to reduce the sentences, with Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews telling families of the victims she could never understand their pain.

SEPARATE TRIALS

However, the judge assured them she “saw what you saw and I heard what you heard” at both trials.

In a landmark case, jurors earlier in separate trials found each parent of shooter Ethan Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.

Judge Matthews said the sentence of 10 to 15 years was “to act as a deterrent” and reflected the parents’ failure to stop the attack.

“They [parents] are not expected to be psychic. But these convictions are not about poor parenting. They concern acts that could have halted a runaway train,” she told the court.

“Opportunity knocked over and over again, louder and louder, and it was ignored.”

The Crumbleys are eligible for parole after they serve ten years in prison, but they cannot be held for more than 15 years if parole is denied, experts said.

Prosecutors had alleged that the pair had dismissed clear signs that their son’s mental health had deteriorated. They also noted that the parents had bought Ethan Crumbley the gun he used in the 2021 attack.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC HANDGUN

Their son was 15 when he killed four students with a semi-automatic handgun at the Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan.

Seven others were wounded in the shooting on November 30, 2021. He is now serving life in prison without parole

James Crumbley’s lawyer, Mariell Lehman, said there was no evidence that Ethan Crumbley’s father was aware of his son’s plans.

Defense attorneys also argued that there was no legal precedent for this case, and it was “inappropriate” to hold the parents responsible for each person that their son killed.

Prosecutors disagreed, as did the judge.

On the day of the shooting, the Crumbleys cut short a school meeting about a disturbing drawing their son had made, opting to go to work and not take him home, according to investigators.

School staff later sent him back to class without checking his backpack, which contained the gun his parents had purchased.

INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION

An independent investigation published last year alleged multiple failures from the school system, including the decision to allow Ethan to return to class.

In response, the school district has pledged to review and improve its practices and policies.

Yet these measures come too late for those still grieving over the young victims, including parents of the dead students, who were all under the age of 17.

Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin, remembered her daughter’s laugh, smile, smarts, and creativity before turning her comments to the Crumbleys.

“When you knew the gun was missing, you called the police, knowing it was your son who took it. I was having family call every hospital describing what (Madisyn) looked like,” Beausoleil told the court.

She told the parents of the shooter: “When you texted ‘Ethan, don’t do it,’ I was texting Madisyn, ‘I love you please call mom.’ ”

Justin Shilling’s dad, Craig, spoke of the “pain, anger, heartache, regret, anxiety, stress” he lives with every day.

BLOOD OF CHILDREN

Craig Shilling, father of Justin Shilling, told the defendants, “The blood of our children is on your hands.”

And, “Literally every single aspect of my life has been affected by this tragedy,” he said, wearing a black hoodie with a photo of his smiling son.

“The blood of our children is on your hands,” he told the defendants.

Justin’s mother, Jill Soave, said the tragedy was entirely preventable.

“If only they had done something, your honor, anything, to shift the course of events on November 30, then our four angels would be here today,” she said.

“It is devastating and heartbreaking that it doesn’t appear that either of you cherished or even wanted your son. But I wholeheartedly wanted and cherished mine,” Soave added. “You have failed your son, and you have failed us all.”

Reina St. Juliana, whose sister Hana was 14 years old when she was killed, recalled that her “10-year-old little brother had to learn how to write a eulogy for his sister before he even learned how to write essays.”