OAN’s Avril Elfie
11:40am – Sunday, April 7, 2024
Jennifer and James Crumbley, parents of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, were found guilty of “four counts of manslaughter” and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. .
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The parents of a Michigan school shooter were sentenced Tuesday after separate trials earlier this year.
Jennifer gave a statement during sentencing, claiming that if she could go back in time, nothing would have been different, and attempted to “retract her testimony” during the trial.
As for James, he simply asked that he be sentenced in a “fair and just manner.”
“You know what my son did, but I didn’t realize it,” Ethan’s father repeated.
According to sentencing documents, prosecutors had asked for a total of 10 to 15 years in prison for each parent, but each separate charge could have carried up to 15 years in prison.
“The sentence handed down by this court will not resolve the harm caused by the Oxford High School shooting on November 30, 2021,” prosecutors wrote in their request for sentencing for Jennifer Crumbley. “As the jury found, the defendant’s gross negligence caused this harm. Although she knew of the danger to others and could well have foreseen that her son would shoot someone, She failed to take even the most normal precautions.”
Michigan’s sentencing guidelines typically impose a maximum sentence of about seven years in prison for negligent parents whose children commit such crimes. However, prosecutors argue that seven years is “not enough.”
“Considering the guidelines, what they do and do not discuss, and the purpose of sentencing, the gravity of the circumstances in this case and the defendant’s utter lack of remorse makes it impossible to impose a sentence that is beyond the scope of the applicable guidelines. Justified,” the prosecutor continued. “These crimes and this offender are punishable by 10 to 15 years in prison.”
Mr James also apologized to the victims in a statement in court on Tuesday.
“I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of Madisyn Baldwin, Hannah St. Juliana, Tate Myre, and Justin Schilling, and to know how truly sorry I am and how devastated I was to hear what happened to them. “I have cried countless times over the loss of you and your children,” he said.
Judge Cheryl Matthews said she expected to make a decision in the coming weeks on whether to impose a “no contact” order between the parents and the shooter. James and Ethan will not be housed in the same facility.
James said he has not spoken to his son since the day of the shooting.
Ethan pleaded guilty in 2021 to 24 charges, including first-degree premeditated murder and terroristic manslaughter, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The case revolves around a meeting between school administrators and the Crumbley family hours before the shooting. Ethan’s school advised him to seek help as soon as possible, but the Crumbleys refused to take him home because they “needed to get back to work.”
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