United States: parents convicted in court for the killing carried out by their son
The father of a US teenager responsible for a 2021 Michigan high school shooting has been found guilty of manslaughter.
And this, a month after his wife.
This is the first time in the country that parents have faced such a sentence for a killing for which their child is responsible.
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James Crumbley, the father of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, is led out of the courtroom after a jury found him guilty of all four counts against him, March 14, 2024 in Pontiac, Michigan.
Getty Images via AFP - BILL PUGLIANO
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When the verdict is announced, James Crumbley shakes his head slightly, looking somber in his gray suit.
Guilty of manslaughter, without ever pulling the trigger.
The Michigan justice system recognizes its responsibility for the actions of his son, Ethan, 15 years old at the time of the events.
On November 30, 2021, this high school student from the small town of Oxford entered the establishment with a 9 millimeter pistol.
He killed four students and injured seven others before being arrested by the police.
Today he is serving a life sentence.
His father, who bought the weapon, could, according to justice, have perceived warning signs and reacted after the discovery of violent drawings on the morning of the shooting.
Described as a “
negligent parent
”, the mother had already been found guilty of manslaughter last month.
They each face fifteen years in prison.
This is the first time that such charges have been brought against parents for the actions of their child.
Although other families of minors have recently been convicted for the same type of offense, each time the charges were of lesser importance, such as illegal possession of firearms.
Both parents will receive their sentence next month.
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