OXFORD, Mich. – Just weeks after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter, both parents of the Oxford High School shooter are set to be sentenced Tuesday in Oakland County.
That sentencing hearing -- scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 9 -- is expected to include impact statements from victims.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are facing up to 15 years in prison for the four counts of involuntary manslaughter they were each convicted of. After two separate trials, two juries determined the parents played a role in the Nov. 30, 2021, mass shooting that left four students dead and seven people injured.
Prosecutors were able to convince jurors that the parents could have foreseen the shooting and either took actions that they shouldn’t have, or didn’t act when they could’ve. Prosecutors argued the mass shooting was preventable, and that the shooter’s parents had the best opportunities to intervene, including on the day of the shooting.
The four children murdered in the shooting were 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana; 16-year-old Tate Myre; 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin; and 17-year-old Justin Shilling. Their parents agreed with prosecutors, believing at least some blame fell on the shooter’s mother and father, and that they should be held accountable.
---> Conviction of Oxford shooter’s parents ‘just the beginning’ for parents of murdered students
The parents and loved ones of the murdered children, along with others impacted by the crimes of James and Jennifer Crumbley, will be allowed to speak during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing before sentences are handed down. Those remarks are known as victim impact statements.
It was not immediately clear how many people would provide statements at the hearing.
What are victim impact statements?
Under Michigan law, victims of a crime are given an opportunity to speak at the defendant’s sentencing hearing through what’s called a victim impact statement. During this time, a victim can express in court how the defendant and/or the crime has impacted them, their lives, and those around them, both physically and emotionally.
The defendant must be present to hear these statements, allowing victims to speak directly to the perpetrator, if they wish.
Why are victim impact statements important?
There are two types of victim impact statements in Michigan: written and oral.
Oral impact statements are made during the sentencing hearing, in which the defendant must be present to hear them. For victims, oral impact statements allow them to speak in a setting in which they are not being questioned, or cross-examined, as they would be if they testified during a defendant’s trial.
A victim impact statement can be read out loud in court by someone other than the original author, if the victim requests as much.
Traditional written impact statements operate a bit differently.
Under Michigan law, victims are given an opportunity to provide a written impact statement that will be seen and reviewed by the judge handling the case. This statement would become part of a pre-sentence investigation report, if one is created, which means the statement is provided before a sentencing hearing occurs. The judge is meant to consider this statement as they decide how to sentence the defendant.
Because written victim impact statements are attached to the judge’s pre-sentence investigation report, they will follow the defendant around going forward. Meaning, if a convicted person is in jail and seeks parole down the road, the written impact statements will be associated with their record and may factor into a parole decision.
A victim impact statement “provides an opportunity to express in your own words what you, your family, and others close to you have experienced as a result of the crime,” the U.S. Department of Justice says. “Many victims also find it helps provide some measure of closure to the ordeal the crime has caused.”
Parents’ possible sentences
Oakland County prosecutors had long accused James and Jennifer Crumbley of being grossly negligent toward their son by failing to provide proper care when he reported having hallucinations and struggling with his mental health. Instead, the parents purchased a handgun for their son and failed to address concerns presented by school staff leading up to the shooting, prosecutors argued.
Gross negligence in Michigan means that a person willfully disregarded the results to others “that might follow from an act or failure to act,” according to the state. In this case, the parents were accused of demonstrating a significant lack of concern about their son’s emotional state and actions, and what he might do to himself or others without proper intervention from them.
Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on February 6. James Crumbley was found guilty on March 14.
One involuntary manslaughter charge in Michigan is a felony and carries a punishment of up to 15 years in prison, and/or a fine of up to $7,500.
Though the parents have been convicted of multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter, they both still face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. If they receive jail time for their crimes, the prison sentences for each count will run concurrently, or at the same time as one another.
---> Prosecutors recommend at least 10 years in prison for parents of Oxford school shooter
What is involuntary manslaughter?
Involuntary manslaughter is one of the lowest homicide-related charges someone can receive after a person is killed. Involuntary manslaughter happens when a person’s death resulted from another person’s negligent or criminal actions.
To qualify as involuntary manslaughter, the death was not intentional or planned by the accused, but rather technically accidental. Still, the person charged with involuntary manslaughter is believed to be responsible for the death, despite their intentions.
Why parents had separate trials
Attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley filed motions on Nov. 13, 2023, requesting they stand trial separately for the four counts of involuntary manslaughter they face in connection with the Oxford shooting. They were initially set to be tried together as co-defendants starting on Jan. 23, 2024.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office filed their responses with the Oakland County Circuit Court the same day, expressing support for the motions filed by the couple. But while agreeing the parents are legally entitled to separate trials, prosecutors say two trials will have a negative impact for many groups of people.
“The People admit that the defendant is entitled to a separate trial because some of the evidence introduced against the codefendant at trial would be damaging to the defendant,” the prosecutors’ filing reads. “Separate trials in this case come at significant cost to victims, witnesses, taxpayers, and the additional jurors who will serve. But the Constitution affords the defendant that right, and the People agree that the defendant is entitled to a separate trial.”
In their filings on Nov. 13, prosecutors said they agree that a conflict exists as it relates to jointly trying the shooter’s parents, but also said they raised the issue of a potential conflict on several occasions more than a year ago. Prosecutors previously sought to ensure the defendants knew of this conflict as they agreed to be represented by two separate attorneys who work under the same firm.
The judge ruled in favor of the parents, deciding that they can stand trial separately. Jennifer Crumbley stood trial first beginning at the end of January. James Crumbley stood trial second, beginning on March 7.
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