James Crumbley, father of Ethan Crumbley, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in his son's school shooting. This verdict came after his wife was also found guilty last month on the same charge. The jury's decision, reached after about 10 hours of deliberations, is significant as it marks the first time in the U.S. that the parents of a mass school shooter have been held criminally responsible. Ethan, their son, was 15 when he opened fire at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit and was sentenced in December to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors argued that James Crumbley had bought Ethan a 9 mm Sig Sauer as a gift a day after Thanksgiving, during a difficult time in his son's life. Ethan was struggling emotionally because his best friend had moved away. Despite not being accused of knowing about the attack beforehand, as his son had warned about it in journal entries, James was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. His attorney stated that James Crumbley "did not know that his son could or would harm anyone."
During the trial, some parents of the victims expressed their anguish, highlighting the need for improved school safety. Steve St. Juliana, father of one of the victims, stated, "We can put people on the moon... and we can’t keep our kids safe in schools. I think people just need to wake up and take action." Additionally, there were calls for change in school leadership, with some parents blaming the school for failing to protect their children.
The prosecutor, Karen McDonald, emphasized that the deaths were "preventable and foreseeable" if Crumbley had taken small efforts to secure the gun. She clarified that the case was not about guns or parental responsibility but about accountability. The verdict, while bringing some closure, does not bring back the children killed that day. McDonald called for treating gun violence as a public health crisis, addressing not just access to guns but other contributing factors as well.
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