Father of Michigan School Shooter Gets 15 Years Jail Term For Manslaughter

 A Michigan jury on Thursday reached a verdict in the trial of the father of a teenager responsible for the fatal shooting of four classmates at a high school near Detroit. The father was convicted of manslaughter, a decision influenced by prosecutors’ arguments that he shared responsibility due to his and his wife’s actions, including providing their son with a gun and disregarding warning signs of potential violence.

James Crumbley, aged 47, was convicted in his trial, which occurred a month after his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty on manslaughter charges related to the shooting incident. James Crumbley faced four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each of the victims at Oxford High School during the tragic events of 2021. Deliberations by the jurors began on Wednesday before reaching a verdict.

Both James and Jennifer Crumbley are scheduled to be sentenced on April 9. Manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 15 years of imprisonment. Their son, Ethan, who was 15 at the time of the shooting at Oxford High School, used a semi-automatic handgun in the incident. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to four counts of first-degree murder and other charges, receiving a sentence of life in prison without parole in December.

The United States, a country plagued by persistent gun violence, has unfortunately witnessed numerous school shootings over the years, often perpetrated by current or former students. The Crumbleys are notably the first parents to be charged with manslaughter in connection to a child’s school shooting.