Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years

What happened

James and Jennifer Crumbley, whose teenage son killed four students in a 2021 school shooting in Oxford, Michigan, were sentenced Tuesday to 10 to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. They are the first parents held directly responsible for a school shooting carried out by their child.

Who said what

"Parents are not expected to be psychic," said Judge Cheryl Matthews. "But these convictions are not about poor parenting. These convictions confirm repeated acts, or lack of acts, that could have halted an oncoming runaway train — repeatedly ignoring things that would make a reasonable person feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up."

The commentary

This groundbreaking case was unique because it was "about inactions," not actions, former U.S. attorney Matthew Schneider told The New York Times. "This is a shot across the bow to all parents, to all people who have firearms in their house, to keep them locked up."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

What next?

The Crumbleys are expected to appeal. Ethan Crumbley, now 17, is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty.