The parents of the Oxford school shooting suspect are worried that politics may hurt their chance at getting a fair trial, given what their son wrote in his journal about President Joe Biden.
According to a new court filing, a 15-year-old boy wrote in his journal that he hoped his shooting would cause Biden to be impeached.
The disclosure was made by lawyers for the boy's parents, who are fighting to prevent their son's text messages to a friend and internet searches from being admitted as evidence when their case goes to trial in the fall.
The Crumbleys don't want the jury to hear about their alleged affairs, pot smoking or drinking habits, horse hobby, and messy house.
Lawyers for the Crumbleys asked a judge on Wednesday to dismiss the manslaughter charges, arguing that a lower court judge abused her discretion in sending the case to trial. They asked the judge to order McDonald to stop making public comments and holding press conferences because they said she was tainting the jury pool by making the parents look bad.
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The journal of the son of the Crumbleys could be used as evidence in a mis trial.
The Crumbleys are accused of ignoring a mentally ill son, failing to get him help, and buying the gun used in the mass shooting.
Lawyers for the Crumbleys fear that their clients could be hurt by anti-Biden statements contained in the journal of the shooter.
The lawyers for the Crumbleys argue that the phrase "Sleepy Joe" is associated with President Trump and that the jury may be blinded by politics.
Defense attorneys Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman argue in court records that political beliefs have no bearing on the guilt or innocence of Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley.
The lawyers argue that the journal has the potential to distract the jury from the real issues in the case.
The defense lawyers write that the materials risk turning jury deliberations into a political debate, and that it would also be likely to lead to longer deliberations and possibly an endless string of hung juries.
The 22-page journal found in his backpack on the day of the shooting that left four students dead and seven other people injured is what troubles the Crumbleys' lawyers.
According to court documents, the journal includes a detailed plan to commit a mass shooting at his school, complaints about his parents, teachers, school administrators, and pretty girls.
The journal entries that raised red flags for his parents are listed here.
I want all of America to hate me and see the darkness in me.
The first victim needs to be a pretty girl with a bright future so she can suffer like me.
I want to hear the screams of the children as I shoot them.
I will cause the biggest school shooting in Michigan's history. I will kill everyone, I will see. My parents don't listen to me about help or a therapist.
People will be talking about my shooting for a long time and I will make a huge impact on the United States.
I want America to hear what I did.
The Crumbleys lawyers argue that there is no evidence that the parents knew about the journal.
The lawyers argue that the parents should not be blamed for his actions.
Defense lawyers argued that the evilness of the intent was not shown to the parents.
Are the Crumbleys criminals or bad parents? It's a tough case to prove.
There are demons. There are affairs. There are guns. The world of the Crumbleys is dark.
Lawyers for the Crumbleys have asked a judge to exclude the journal from the trial, as well as internet searches for graphic content related to other school shootings and people being killed.
They want the judge to exclude text messages that he sent to a friend in the months before the shooting.
They make me feel like I'm the problem. I asked my dad to take me to the doctor the other day, and he gave me some pills, and I told my mom.
A text was sent to the same friend about a bird's head that was hiding under his bed.
My mom almost found the bird head, my friend said.
The head of the bird is being argued to be irrelevant to the case by the Crumbleys.
The journal, text messages, and internet searches are all hearsay as they will not be able to cross examine their son about what he wrote and searched for. The trial of his parents is scheduled for October.
There is no doubt thatEthan's writings, texts and internet searches are upsetting and disturbing. This makes them unfairly prejudiced to Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley, who did not have knowledge of or write the journal, had no knowledge of or involvement in sending the texts.
The Crumbleys are in the Oakland County Jail. If they had exercised ordinary care and diligence, they could have stopped the rampage that was carried out by their troubled son.
There was testimony that the parents knew about the troubled young man, and that he was a troubled young man. Nicholson said that he was free to use the gun that they purchased.
On Thursday, the Crumbleys asked Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews to dismiss the manslaughter charges, arguing that the judge abused his discretion in finding probable cause to send the case to trial.
The element that they can't prove is that the Crumbley's knew their son was going to commit the shooting.
The Crumbley's knew their son was troubled but never got him help even when he was texting his mom about seeing demons and hearing doors slam. They argue that the Crumbleys failed to stop a tragedy when they had the power to act and they were summoned to the school over a violent drawing their son had made that included a gun and the words.
Prosecutors argue that the parents did not tell the school that their son had access to a gun, but they did tell him to return to class.
The prosecution disagrees with the defense that the parents had no duty to do anything.
McDonald said that the community had a duty to prevent their son from harming someone when they knew he was preoccupied with violent material, that he had access to a gun, and that he was disturbed. It goes far beyond carelessness. It is gross negligent.
The Crumbleys and their son are being held in the Oakland County Jail pending the outcome of their cases. All have pleaded not guilty.
If he is found guilty of first-degree murder, he will face life in prison.
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