Oxford school shooter's parents can face manslaughter trial, court says in groundbreaking case

[jgo]

Source: CBS News

The parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Michigan high school can face trial for involuntary manslaughter, the state appeals court said Thursday in a groundbreaking case of criminal responsibility for the acts of a child.

The murders would not have happened if the parents hadn't purchased a gun for Ethan Crumbley or if they had taken him home from Oxford High School on the day of the shooting, when staff became alarmed about his extreme drawings, the appeals court said.

The court noted that the legal threshold at this stage of the case is fairly low under Michigan law.

"Whether a jury actually finds that causation has been proven after a full trial, where the record will almost surely be more expansive — including evidence produced by defendants — is an issue separate from what we decide today," the court said in a 3-0 opinion.


Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oxford-high-school-shooter-ethan-crumbley-parents-involuntary-manslaughter-michigan-court/

[sanatanadharma]

1. Criminal responsibility for irresponsible gun activity

The parents are not responsible for the kid's actions. They are responsible for their action in arming the kid.
Maybe the kid would have found a gun one way or another and the parents responsibility would then be near nil.
But!
Buying the gun is s good as pulling the trigger; in moral fact if not legal ethics.

Same reality goes up the chain to the manufacturers. Between them and the (so-called) good, responsible, law-abiding gun owner are many supposedly legal but factually leaky levels of gun-lovers who arm the worst of humanity.

[maxsolomon]

2. I find this appropriate.

Man 2 is the proper charge. Criminally negligent homicide.

[ffr]

3. Sharing the blame could reverse the upwardly more violent school violence trends

sweeping this nation. "LOL, I'm not mad at you. You have to learn not get caught"...when searching for ammunition in your high school class.

Their teenager apparently was indoctrinated into the parent's way of thought, that gun violence through homicide is the first course of dispute resolution, rather than the last.

This whole family is mentally unstable!

[flying_wahini]

4. About damn time.

Never happen in Texas, tho……too afraid of good old boys getting locked up.

[orthoclad]

5. Enabling adults

need jail time. Like the parents of that 6 year old shooter.

Hard to believe that the Crumbleys aren't sentenced already. Their stupidity and attitude is evident in the courtroom photo. I assume the mother is the one on the left. The one with the nose-out mask.

[republianmushroom]

6. like it

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. The parents are also responsible for this mass shooting

[Paladin]

8. Good. (nt)

[DVRacer]

9. Oh boy this is a can of worms

I am thinking about the next case and beyond. Think how some prosecutors might use this in black and brown communities. Little Johnny does something stupid and now the state goes after mom and dad.

[Demsrule86]

10. That is ridiculous...you arm your kid...and he kills someone, you are responsible.

[Igel]

15. And when Johnny impregnates

or rapes a girl ...

The claim has two prongs.

"They provided the weapons" OR "They didn't pick him up."

*Either* is adequate. If either is true, then the verdict is "true."

"Johnny hit on me day after day, and when he wasn't picked up after school and I finished cheer/detention he was there. And raped me!"

They didn't pick him up. The verdict is "true."

We'll ignore timelines.

[Demsrule86]

17. Apples and oranges...and the idea that somehow this places Black parents at risk

in particular...well that is not acceptable and hints that somehow...they commit more crimes?

[Ladythatvotesblue]

11. As it should be

I am responsible for all my kids up to the age of 18. Then they are adults. You raise them to do the right thing. If you do not have the time or want to guide your children DON'T HAVE THEM! They cannot serve our country until 18. They cannot buy cigarettes until 18, They cannot vote until 18 ,They cannot drink booze until 21. So why would any parent think it is ok to be so lax with weapons?
Mine all hunt and did not get any access until they were 18 and got a hunting license. We will still take them away if they handle them carelessly. (Mom and Dads roof= Mom and Dads rules) College boys.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. Thanks for posting an update on this terrible news story.

[Shoonra]

13. And about Kyle Rittenhouse ...

Kyle Rittenhouse's mom drove him - and his gun - across state lines to cause trouble. How about a charge against her??

[littlemissmartypants]

14. And about Kyle Rittenhouse ...

Fact check:
1) Kyle Rittenhouse's mom drove him
FACT CHECK: DID KYLE RITTENHOUSE’S MOTHER DRIVE HIM TO THE KENOSHA PROTEST WHILE HE WAS ARMED WITH A RIFLE?
4:04 PM 11/18/2021

"The claim, however, doesn’t hold up under scrutiny."

https://checkyourfact.com/2021/11/18/fact-check-kyle-wendy-rittenhouse-drive-protest-armed-rifle/

Fact check:
2) drove him - and his gun - across state lines
Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon
By D'Angelo Gore

Posted on November 17, 2021
"According to court testimony and police records, the AR-15 style rifle that he says he used in self-defense during confrontations with the men had been stored at a friend’s house in Kenosha and was not with him in the car when he made the roughly 20-mile drive to Wisconsin from his home state."

https://www.factcheck.org/2021/11/rittenhouse-testified-he-drove-himself-to-kenosha-without-weapon/

[FakeNoose]

16. Absolutely the parents must answer for it

We need to see more of this.

It's a tragedy for the children who were killed and THEIR families. But for the parents of the underage killer, it's not a tragedy it's negligence and perhaps even complicity.

[ck4829]

18. K&R