James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, were sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in prison on Tuesday for their roles in the 2021 massacre that left four students dead at Oxford High School. The sentencing marks the first time in U.S. history that parents have been held accountable for a mass shooting carried out by their child.
Judge Cheryl Matthews handed down the sentences in a Pontiac, Michigan courtroom after the Crumbleys were found guilty on involuntary manslaughter charges in separate trials earlier this year. The judge blamed the parents for failing to intervene despite obvious warning signs that their son was troubled and for neglecting to keep a gun locked away in their home.
"These convictions are not about poor parenting, these convictions confirm repeated acts or lack of acts that could have halted an oncoming runaway train, about repeatedly ignoring things that would make a reasonable person feel the hair on the back of their neck stand up," Matthews said before announcing the sentences.
Prosecutors had asked for at least 10 years in prison for each parent, arguing that their "gross negligence changed an entire community forever" and that they could have prevented the shooting with "tragically simple actions." The couple, who have been jailed since their arrests two-and-a-half years ago, asked for no additional prison time, with Jennifer Crumbley requesting she be released with GPS tracking to live with her lawyer.
During the sentencing hearing, family members of the slain students - Justin Shilling, 17; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Tate Myre, 16 - shared the devastating impact the shooting has had on their lives. Nicole Beausoleil, Baldwin's mother, told the Crumbleys through tears, "You failed as parents. The punishment that you face will never be enough, it will never bring her back."
Both James and Jennifer Crumbley addressed the court before their sentencing. Jennifer claimed she had no idea what her son was capable of and said, "If I even thought my son would be capable of crimes like these, my actions would have absolutely been different." James emotionally apologized for the "pain and agony" his son had caused but maintained that he was unaware of his son's plans or access to firearms in their home.
At their trials, jurors heard testimony about how the parents went to the school on the day of the shooting to discuss a violent drawing found on Ethan's math assignment, which depicted a gun, a bullet, and a bleeding person with the words "Blood everywhere" and "The thoughts won't stop - help me." Despite this, the Crumbleys did not remove their son from school, instead returning to work after being given a list of mental health services.
Legal experts had suggested that James Crumbley could face a harsher sentence due to allegations of threats made against the prosecutor while in jail. Prosecutors also argued that his jail calls showed a "total lack of remorse" and that he blamed everyone but himself for the shooting.
The victims' families have demanded further accountability in the aftermath of the trials, seeking changes to governmental immunity laws that protect schools from being sued and calling for independent reviews after any mass shooting. Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, told the judge during the sentencing, "It's time to drive real change from this tragedy."
Ethan Crumbley, now 17, pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The sentencing of his parents marks a significant step in holding individuals accountable for their roles in mass shootings and sends a message about the importance of responsible gun ownership and parental oversight.
