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The mother of the Michigan teen who killed four high school classmates in 2021 wants a judge to throw out her conviction for involuntary manslaughter. Jennifer Crumbley’s case set a precedent for holding parents responsible for school shootings carried out by their children. From member station WDET, Quinn Klinefelter reports.
QUINN KLINEFELTER, BYLINE: Earlier this year, after separate trials, a judge sentenced Jennifer Crumbley and her husband to 10 to 15 years in prison, ruling they had ignored their son’s need for counseling, gave him what became the murder weapon as a present and failed to keep the gun secure. But Crumbley’s attorney, Michael Dezsi, writes in a court filing that the case was, quote, “tainted from top to bottom,” and says there should be an acquittal or a new trial. Dezsi argues the prosecution treated the teen shooter as an adult during his trial, then charged his mother with being negligent about her child – a minor. Dezsi adds that it was never disclosed until after the trial that school officials who decided to keep the teen in class the day of the shooting had reached an agreement to cooperate with the prosecution.
MICHAEL DEZSI: So, clearly, those witnesses had a bias to testify in a way as to shift blame away from the school and away from what they failed to do and to put that blame on the parents, and Mrs. Crumbley in particular.
KLINEFELTER: Dezsi also claims Crumbley had an ineffective counsel in attorney Shannon Smith. During the trial, Smith said she was easily flustered and defended herself as much as her client when closing arguments began.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SHANNON SMITH: I say I’m sorry a lot. Evidently, there’s a TikTok channel of me saying I’m sorry through this whole trial. I’m human, and so is Mrs. Crumbley. And that’s what this case is about.
KLINEFELTER: Prosecutors counter in a statement that there was never any deal to give school officials immunity from anything they testified about. And they add that the Michigan Court of Appeals examined whether a parent could be charged for crimes committed by a child before Jennifer Crumbley’s trial began and rejected all of the arguments her new attorney currently alleges. Prosecutor Karen McDonald also bristled at a statement from Crumbley’s attorney that, quote, “parents everywhere should be worried about this case.” McDonald responded that parents are worried about their kids being shot at school and that holding them accountable is an important step in creating a safer environment. A judge has set a hearing on the matter for early January.
For NPR News, I’m Quinn Klinefelter in Detroit. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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