A first in the US: Parents convicted for crime committed by their child

The parents of Ethan Crumbley, who carried out a shooting at Oxford High School in the US state of Michigan in 2021 and killed 4 classmates, have been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for "involuntary manslaughter."

Thus, for the first time in the US, parents have been convicted for a crime committed by their child.

Jennifer and James Crumbley will serve 15 years in prison if their parole requests are denied when they become eligible for parole after 10 years.

THEY DID NOT TAKE MEASURES THAT COULD HAVE PREVENTED THE ATTACK

After prosecutors presented evidence that an unsecured firearm was kept in the home and that the parents were indifferent to the teenager's mental health, the court ruled that Jennifer and James Crumbley did not take measures that could have prevented the attack.

"CONVICTIONS ARE NOT ABOUT POOR PARENTING"

Judge Cheryl Matthews said, "These convictions are not about poor parenting. These convictions confirm repeated negligent acts, or lack of acts, that could have halted an oncoming runaway train. It is about the failure to act when it was so obvious that it would make a reasonable person's hair stand on end. Opportunity knocked over and over again, louder and louder, and was ignored. No one answered."

THEY HAVE BEEN IN PRISON FOR 2.5 YEARS

Ethan Crumbley, now 17, was sentenced to life in prison for murder and other crimes.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were arrested following the attack and have been in prison for approximately 2.5 years as they were unable to pay their 500 thousand dollar bail.

News Source: İHA