What happened
A jury in Oakland County, Michigan, late Thursday found James Crumbley, 47, guilty of involuntary manslaughter for failing to prevent his teenage son from killing four fellow students at Oxford High School in 2021. His wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty on identical charges in February.
Who said what
"James Crumbley is not on trial for what his son did," but what Crumbley "didn't do," notably taking the "tragically small measure" of securing his handgun, prosecutor Karen McDonald said. Prosecutors provided "no evidence that James had any knowledge that his son was a danger to anyone," said Crumbley's lawyer Mariell Lehman.
The commentary
The Crumbley trials "became a lightning rod" in a "national effort to hold some parents responsible for enabling deadly violence by their children," The New York Times said. Since their arrests, shooters' "parents in other states have pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct or neglect."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Jennifer and James Crumbley are scheduled to be sentenced on April. Each faces up to 10 years in prison. Their son is serving a life sentence without parole.
-
October 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being releasedThe Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
3 officers killed in Pennsylvania shootingSpeed Read Police did not share the identities of the officers or the slain suspect, nor the motive or the focus of the still-active investigation
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Trump lambasts crime, but his administration is cutting gun violence preventionThe Explainer The DOJ has canceled at least $500 million in public safety grants
-
Aimee Betro: the Wisconsin woman who came to Birmingham to killIn the Spotlight US hitwoman wore a niqab in online lover's revenge plot
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
