Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley who carried out a deadly school shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, have been sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison each for involuntary manslaughter. This tragic incident resulted in the deaths of four students, making it the deadliest school shooting in Michigan’s history.

The Crumbleys’ trials concluded with guilty verdicts in February and March, marking them as the first parents in the country to be convicted for their child’s role in a mass shooting. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison in Michigan, and prosecutors had requested a minimum of 10 years for each parent in their sentencing memos filed last week. The Crumbleys had been in jail for over two years awaiting trial and will receive credit for time served.

During the sentencing, Judge Cheryl Matthews emphasized that the convictions were not about poor parenting but rather about repeated acts or lack of acts that could have prevented the tragic events. She stated, “Parents are not expected to be psychic, but these convictions confirm repeated acts or lack of acts that could have halted an oncoming runaway train.”

Prior to the sentencing, Ms. Crumbley expressed her desire to be placed under house arrest on her defense lawyer’s property instead of serving prison time. Mr. Crumbley maintained his innocence and requested a sentence equivalent to the time he had already spent in prison. Both parents addressed the court during the hearing, offering apologies to the families of the victims.

Relatives of the victims also spoke at the hearing, sharing the devastating impact of the shooting on their lives. Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, one of the victims, emphasized that the tragedy was entirely preventable if the Crumbleys had taken action.

During the trials, prosecutors highlighted the parents’ failure to address warning signs exhibited by their son, including a violent drawing he made on the morning of the shooting. They also underscored Mr. Crumbley’s purchase of a handgun that their son used and Mrs. Crumbley’s oversight of her son’s mental health struggles, including taking him to a gun range shortly before the shooting.

The defense argued that the parents could not have predicted the extreme violence their son would perpetrate. However, the unique nature of the involuntary manslaughter charges against the Crumbleys has drawn attention to issues of parental responsibility in cases of gun violence involving minors.

Legal experts believe that the verdict in the Crumbleys’ case could establish a precedent for holding parents accountable in similar situations in the future. The ruling sends a clear message about the importance of securing firearms and taking action to prevent tragic outcomes.