For our look at trials, in this case the sentencing phase. The overall story includes the decision by the district attorney to apply a law - involuntary manslaughter - in a unique situation: the culpability of the parent's of the person who committed the crime.
- Click here for the article.
James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the Oxford High School shooter, face sentencing in Michigan on Tuesday after emotional back-to-back trials earlier this year ended with their convictions on four counts each of involuntary manslaughter.
Days after the killings at the school in Oxford, Mich., McDonald made the unprecedented decision to criminally charge parents for a mass school shooting committed by their child.
. . . Throughout the two trials, the prosecution’s overarching argument against the parents was that they bought a gun for a teenager who was clearly troubled, they failed to secure it, and they failed to take steps before the shooting including the morning of that could have prevented the eventual tragedy.
James Crumbley bought a 9mm SigSauer days before the shooting as an early Christmas gift, while Jennifer Crumbley bought ammunition and took her son to a shooting range to practice with it.
On the morning of shooting, the parents were called in to discuss violent drawings their son had made on a math assignment, including a drawing of a black gun and a bullet-ridden body. The Crumbleys left their son at school and returned to work after he asked to stay. They were alerted hours later of a shooting at Oxford High School.
Involuntary Manslaughter in Texas:
- Penal Code.
- Horak Law: Houston Involuntary Manslaughter Lawyer.
- Chris Lewis and Associates: Understanding Texas Manslaughter Laws.
