As a high school student I live with a constant fear in the back of my mind that one of my peers could choose that today will be my last day on this earth. Whether others view this fear as reasonable or not, what we can’t deny is that school shootings are a legitimate problem in the U.S., and how we stop them is something we should put more effort into. While increasing gun regulations will forever be a controversial topic, in Michigan yesterday we saw a new way to potentially increase accountability.
Yesterday Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, was found guilty of all four counts of involuntary manslaughter. This verdict is the first of its kind. In the past parents of school shooters have been found guilty in terms of negligence but never in terms of manslaughter. Her husband, James Crumbley, is scheduled to go to trial on the same charges in early March. Crumbley faces up to 15 years in prison, and her sentencing hearing is set for April 9.
On Nov 30, 2021, Jennifer and James Crumbleys 15 year old child Ethan Crumbley used a 9mmn semi-automatic handgun (bought for him by his father) to shoot and kill 4 classmates and injure 7 others. The son has since had his trial and pleaded guilty as an adult to all 24 charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
With a novel case like this, the jury will obviously be torn as to what the right decision is. After 11 hours of deliberation they ultimately came to the conclusion that Jennifer Crumbley is guilt of involuntary manslaughter. One of the jury members said that “The thing that really hammered it home is that she was the last adult with the gun”. In the prosecuting attorneys closing argument she showed a photo of Jennifer Crumbley leaving a shooting range with the gun in a case 3 days before the shooting, and what she said not only resonated with the jury but also myself:
“This is the last picture we have of that gun until we see it murder four kids on November 30, and the person holding it is Jennifer Crumbley. She’s the last person we see with that gun”
This case is one that will hopefully lead to a long line of increased accountability for parents of school shooters. But for now we await April 9th to see if Jennifer Crumbley receives the maximum involuntary manslaughter penalty of 15 years. We also remember the names of Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17; all of which were killed by Ethan Crumbley.
With each school shooting we turn a blind eye to we become more and more numb, but with this case we set a precedent that more than the killer can be held accountable for these horrifying actions.
