Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will ask a judge to sentence the Michigan parents convicted in their son's school shooting. Each faces 10 to 15 years in prison, according to a copy of the prosecution memo obtained by NBC News.
James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley, who were found guilty of manslaughter in separate trials, each face up to 15 years in prison for the 2021 killing of a student by their son Ethan. may be punished.
The Oakland County, Michigan, prosecutor's office said the maximum a judge could impose is a total of 15 years because the felonies in the same incident must run concurrently.
In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors argued to Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews that the parents' case called for a sentence that exceeded the recommended guidelines.
In each case, prosecutors wrote, the parents' “gross negligence forever changed entire communities.”
Prosecutors said both men could have prevented the shooting with “tragic simple actions,” adding that they “failed to take any action when faced with the gravest danger.”
The Crumbleys are scheduled to be sentenced in Oakland County Court on April 9th. The families of the slain students are expected to read victim impact statements, and court officials will bring the parents together for procedural purposes, although it is not immediately clear whether they will be held at the same time. They may choose to have you appear in court.
The ruling could mark the first time Crumbley's parents meet face-to-face since they attended a joint hearing before the trial was adjourned, as they cannot be contacted by the prison.
The sentencing memo for James Crumbley cited the alleged threats he made against prosecutors, saying, “His summons to prison shows a total lack of remorse'' and “he has made everyone but himself I'm blaming them.”
The memo details expletive-filled threats he made directly to prosecutors on multiple recorded jail calls. In his pre-trial phone call, he said, “Karen MacDonald, you're going down.'' In another call, he threatened retaliation.
The verdict capped a tortuous legal saga in which Ethan pleaded guilty as an adult to the shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit and was sentenced to life in prison. The charges against James Crumbley, 47, and Jennifer, who turned 46 on Monday, are the first time the parents of the shooters have been held legally responsible for the school shootings committed by their children. It was my first time in the US.
Following James Crumbley's conviction last month, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the charges against the parents were based on charges that the parents failed to properly store a 9mm semi-automatic handgun that their son had acquired. He said it was based on the evidence presented and therefore could have prevented the impending incident. attack. They were not charged with having prior knowledge of the assault.
“I hope this will help prevent more gun violence,” McDonald told NBC News about the double conviction. “I hope this will lead to people being more responsible.”
MacDonald declined to address the threats James Crumbley allegedly made from prison in an interview shortly after the trial, but her office later said in a statement: “These threats are serious and she has no remorse.” It also reflects a lack of support and continued disobedience.” Accountability for her role in the death of student Madisyn Baldwin, 17. Tate Mire, 16 years old. Hannah St. Juliana, 14 years old. and Justin Schilling, 17 years old.
Sources close to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office confirmed to NBC News that Crumbley allegedly made numerous phone calls while in jail and told his sister that his goal in life was to shut down McDonald's. .
In an interview with NBC News before details of the alleged threat became public, James Crumbley's attorney, Marielle Lehman, said she and her client had “disagreements about what was said and what it was.” There is,” he said.
The sentencing memo also cited James Crumbley's belief in his pre-sentence report that he was wrongly convicted and should be sentenced to a time-limited sentence.
“I feel horrible about what happened and I would do anything to go back in time and change it! But I can't. And I don't know what happened,” according to the prosecution memo. It has nothing to do with it,” he wrote. He said, “I don't know why my son did what he did. Only my son knows.''
Prosecutors wrote that the request showed a “shameless lack of remorse” and was a “slap in the face” to the victims and their families.
Neither Lehman nor Jennifer Crumbley's attorney has said whether they plan to appeal the historic conviction.
They declined to comment on the prosecutor's sentencing memorandum Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office released a copy of an agreement with two Oxford University employees who testified at the parents' trial. “Provider” letters, typically agreements that allow a witness to provide information without it being used against them in a criminal proceeding, were filed in December 2021 as prosecutors developed their case against the parents in the months immediately following the shooting. Signed in May.
In response to local media reports that prosecutors had given assurances that interviews with investigators would not be used against them, prosecutors were adamant that no witnesses were granted immunity.
The letter states that there is “no promise of favorable consideration” regarding potential charges against school officials, but that what school officials said in their meetings with the proposer cannot be used to bring charges. It also includes a written passage.
“Prosecutors have said from the beginning that there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges against school officials, and that position remains unchanged,” Oakland County Chief Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement last month. .
Career guidance counselor Sean Hopkins and former student dean Nicholas Ejak met with the Crumbley parents and son hours before the shooting began. They testified that after a teacher found a picture of a gun with the words “Help me” and “I can't stop thinking” written on it in Ethan's math assignment, he encouraged his parents to take him home.
They testified that no adult checked Ethan's backpack for a gun on the morning of the shooting, and that Ejak at one point told jurors about how heavy the bag was. He said he even joked with his teachers. Hopkins said she thought that if his parents went back to work, Ethan would be better off staying at school rather than staying home alone.
“Both witnesses then gave sworn testimony without any promise or protection and were given nothing for their testimony,” Williams said.