(WXMI) — The parents of Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley will spend 10–15 years in a Michigan prison.
Both were convicted at separate trials for their apparent neglect to get their son mental health help or stop him from having access to a gun.
A judge handed down the sentence Tuesday.
James and Jennifer Crumbley appeared in Oakland County Court together to get the news that was years in the making. This all stems from a mass shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.
Both James and Jennifer were convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Families gave their victim impact statements at the stand, saying these parents, who gave their son a gun, and ignored warning signs he needed help, are just as guilty as the shooter.
“You created all this. You created your son’s life, which then allowed this to be his path. Which should be yours as well. You don’t get to look away. You don’t get to cry. I didn’t get that choice. You failed as parents. The punishment you face will never be enough,” Madiysn's mom, Nicole Beausoleil, said.
“This tragedy was completely preventable. If only that had done something, Your Honor, anything to shift the course of events on November 30th. Then our for angels would be here today,” Justin’s mom, Jill Soave, said.
“I believe your actions cannot even be confined into the word 'failure.' Your mistakes created our everlasting nightmare,” Hana's sister, Reina St. Juliana, said.
Lewis Langham, a professor at Cooley Law, called this case one that sets a precedent.
"This 10–15 years is sending a strong message. This is pretty much the max sentence they could get,” Langham said.
Jennifer and James Crumbley both spoke in court.
“The prosecution has tried to mold us as the type of parents society wants to believe are so horrible, only a school or mass shooter could be bred from. This is a very fatal assumption to have. We were good parents. We were the average family,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“I cannot express how much I wish that I had known what was going on with him, or what was going to happen. Because I absolutely would have done a lot of things differently," James Crumbley said.
The judge also ordered Jennifer and James to not have contact with any of the victims' families. The lives lost include 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.
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