The parents of the boy who allegedly shot 11 people at Oxford High School, killing four, sat with their attorneys during a hearing. Bill Pugliano is a photographer.
The parents of the boy who allegedly shot 11 people at Oxford High School, killing four, sat with their attorneys during a hearing. Bill Pugliano is a photographer.
The parents of the boy accused of killing four classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan were charged for their alleged role in the tragedy.
Civil law is more likely to hold defendants liable for the actions of a third party, even if that third party is a child. Criminal law defendants face imprisonment and the associated stigma that comes with a conviction.
The parents have pleaded not guilty. They each face a maximum prison sentence of 60 years and maximum fines of US$30,000 if convicted. They appeared before a judge in prison uniforms and chains in December of 2021.
In rare instances, parents of school shooters are charged with crimes such as child abuse, child neglect and failure to properly secure a firearm. The charge against the Crumbleys is more rare.
It is not without precedent.
A first graders death.
In 2000, Jamelle James, a Michigan resident, was found guilty of manslaughter for leaving his handgun in his bedroom. James lived in an apartment that was shared with a number of people, including two young children.
A 6-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his first grade class mate at school after he found a gun in his uncle James' apartment. James was released on parole after spending more than two years in prison.
James was accused of being negligent and so reckless as to show a lack of concern for whether an injury occurred. James' gross negligentness was demonstrated by leaving a gun around young children.
The deaths of five people at Oxford were the worst at a U.S. K-12 campus in the last year. Seven people were injured.
Karen McDonald was the prosecutor for Oakland County. McDonald said their behavior was egregious.
McDonald said during the news conference that the charges were meant to hold the individuals who contributed to the tragedy accountable and send a message that gun owners have a responsibility. There are serious and criminal consequences if they fail to uphold that responsibility.
One of the key questions for jurors is whether the parents knew about the shooting or if they didn't. The prosecution will most likely rely on a number of alleged facts to prove the parents were negligent.
The behavior isgregious.
The Crumbleys bought their son the handgun as a Christmas present and later took him to target practice.
Neither parent told the school that their son had access to the gun.
After being told that her son was looking for a gun on his phone at school, she told him to text not to get caught. You have to be careful not to get caught.
Neither of the parents decided to remove their son from school after learning that a teacher found a drawing of a bloody figure in his desk.
The gun was unlocked.
The Crumbleys' defense team has some very strong counterarguments.
The weapon was legal to own, and Michigan does not require the gun to be stored away from children. The defense will argue that the Crumbleys had no duty to inform the school about their son's access to weapons, and that they were not required to pull their son from school.
With regards to the text, it is most likely that the text was sent jokingly and she thought her son planned to shoot at targets not other children.
Changing the law.
The child who shot James was never charged with a crime because he was too young to understand criminal intent.
The same cannot be said for him. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of terrorism causing death, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The parents of the Oxford High School shooter will be charged in Oakland County. Scott Olson is a photographer.
Despite the challenges facing the prosecution, many people on both sides of the gun safety debate applaud the efforts of Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald.
The fact that most school shooters have little difficulty acquiring their weapons may be the reason for this. According to an assessment by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, most of the guns used in school shootings came from a parent or close relative.
Legislation recently proposed state and federal may reverse this trend. Two weeks after the Oxford shootings, a new law was proposed by a U.S. Representative. A new federal law could make up for Michigan's lack of a secure gun storage law by creating penalties for failure to store guns safely.
The tragic events at Oxford High School may be the catalyst for making parents criminally responsible for their children's behavior. The debate on gun safety has moved from the statehouse to the courthouse.
The editors of The Conversation pick need-to-know stories. Sign up for Politics Weekly.
The Conversation is a news site that shares ideas from academic experts. It was written by a University of Dayton professor.
Read more.
