(CBS DETROIT) The mother of the shooter at Oxford High School, Jennifer Crumbley, is requesting that a judge reverse her sentence for involuntary manslaughter.
Michael Dezsi, the lawyer for Jennifer Crumbley, claimed in a motion submitted Monday to Oakland County Circuit Court that the proceedings of his client were “tainted from top to bottom and were borne out of prosecutorial overreach attempting to criminalize Mrs. Crumbley’s noncriminal conduct.”
Dezsi is requesting that a judge grant Jennifer Crumbley a new trial or acquit her.
“Jennifer Crumbley’s convictions for involuntary manslaughter stem from a trial riddled with legal errors where key evidence was withheld, and cooperation agreements were peddled and suppressed to secure testimony for the prosecution to convict an individual who committed no crime,” Dezsi stated in a statement. “There is a reason why, in the case of a school shooting, no parent in America has ever been held accountable for their child’s criminal actions. It’s because Mrs. Crumbley didn’t do anything wrong. Parents everywhere should be concerned about this case.
In February, Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter related to the mass shooting that took place on Nov. 30, 2021, during which her son, Ethan Crumbley, killed Justin Shilling, 17, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, and wounded seven others. In March, James Crumbley, her husband, was found guilty on the same four counts. The two became the first parents in the United States to be held accountable for a school shooting that their child had perpetrated when they were sentenced to 10–15 years in prison in April.
During the landmark trials, prosecutors contended that the shooting could have been avoided and that the shooter’s parents purchased the pistol he used in the shooting while ignoring his mental health issues.
Dezsi, who was named Jennifer Crumbley’s appellant lawyer in April, believes that the conviction of Jennifer Crumbley should be reversed because the prosecution failed to give her defense team the offer agreements of former student dean Nicholas Ejak and Oxford High School counselor Shawn Hopkins. The two were important prosecution witnesses.
In addition to the incorrect charging decision, Mrs. Crumbley was not given a fair trial because the prosecution purposefully concealed important impeachment evidence from the defense and relied on contradictory, Kafkaesque legal theories that seriously abused the law. Allowing the jury to find Mrs. Crumbley guilty without reaching a unanimous verdict on the specific offense committed was another violation of her constitutional rights, Dezi said in a motion.
In response to Dezsi’s accusations, Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams stated:
“No witnesses were given anything for their testimony, and there was no immunity these witnesses testified without any promises or protection whatsoever,” Williams stated. “The legal concerns brought forth by Jennifer Crumbley have already been examined and dismissed by the Michigan Court of Appeals. They can and should be prosecuted for egregious facts like these, in which two parents purchased a gun for their son despite the clear indications that he was in crisis, neglected to secure it, and then failed to take him home when he drew out his plans, including writing “blood everywhere” with a picture of a gun and a body with bleeding bullet wounds.
In addition, according to Dezsi, Jennifer Crumbley “owed no legal duty to the victims of the shooting such that she could not be held criminally responsible for involuntary manslaughter,” “the prosecution’s assertion of inconsistent theories of culpability” violated her right to a fair trial, she lacked an effective defense team, and the judge ordered the jury to convict her absent a unanimous verdict, all of which violated her constitutional rights.
In a statement, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald responded to Jennifer Crumbley’s motion by saying, “Parents around the world are concerned. However, they are more concerned about their children getting shot at school than they are about facing legal action. Twenty-four jurors unanimously concluded that James and Jennifer Crumbley, the infrequent and egregiously careless exception, are to blame for Hana, Madisyn, Tate, and Justin’s deaths. Making our schools safer starts with holding people responsible for their actions.
In December 2023, the gunman was given a life sentence without the chance of release. At the Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Jennifer Crumbley is presently completing her term.
The Oxford Community School District and a number of previous school officials were sued last week by Molly Darnell, the lone adult employee of the Oxford school who was shot by Crumbley’s son during the mass shooting.
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