Latest news with #EthanCrumbley
Washington Post
28-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Michigan court ends effort to sue Oxford school staff over 2021 mass shooting
DETROIT — The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed appeals by families of students killed or wounded at Oxford High School in 2021, ending efforts to hold employees partly responsible for the mass shooting. Under Michigan law, immunity is a high hurdle to overcome in lawsuits against a government body, including public school staff. Lawyers typically have to show that gross negligence occurred. The court, in a two-sentence order, said it would not step into the litigation. The decision means a 3-0 Court of Appeals decision in favor of school employees will stand. A lawyer for the families said he would speak at an afternoon news conference. The appeals court in September said there was no evidence that Oxford staff were the 'proximate cause' of the tragedy, noting it was 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley who 'made the definite and premeditated decision' to take a gun to school, kill four students and wound seven other people. Before the shooting, he sketched images of a gun, a bullet and a wounded man on a math paper, accompanied by despondent phrases. His parents were quickly called to a meeting at school but declined to take him home. No one — parents or staff — checked the boy's backpack for a gun, though an administrator joked that it was heavy. Crumbley, now 19, is serving a life prison sentence. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are each serving 10-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said they had ignored his mental health needs, bought him a gun as a gift and then failed to safely secure it. ___ Follow Ed White at
The Independent
28-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Michigan court ends effort to sue Oxford school staff over 2021 mass shooting
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed appeals by families of students killed or wounded at Oxford High School in 2021, ending efforts to hold employees partly responsible for the mass shooting. Under Michigan law, immunity is a high hurdle to overcome in lawsuits against a government body, including public school staff. Lawyers typically have to show that gross negligence occurred. The court, in a two-sentence order, said it would not step into the litigation. The decision means a 3-0 Court of Appeals decision in favor of school employees will stand. A lawyer for the families said he would speak at an afternoon news conference. The appeals court in September said there was no evidence that Oxford staff were the 'proximate cause' of the tragedy, noting it was 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley who 'made the definite and premeditated decision' to take a gun to school, kill four students and wound seven other people. Before the shooting, he sketched images of a gun, a bullet and a wounded man on a math paper, accompanied by despondent phrases. His parents were quickly called to a meeting at school but declined to take him home. No one — parents or staff — checked the boy's backpack for a gun, though an administrator joked that it was heavy. Crumbley, now 19, is serving a life prison sentence. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are each serving 10-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said they had ignored his mental health needs, bought him a gun as a gift and then failed to safely secure it. ___
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Michigan court ends effort to sue Oxford school staff over 2021 mass shooting
DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed appeals by families of students killed or wounded at Oxford High School in 2021, ending efforts to hold employees partly responsible for the mass shooting. Under Michigan law, immunity is a high hurdle to overcome in lawsuits against a government body, including public school staff. Lawyers typically have to show that gross negligence occurred. The court, in a two-sentence order, said it would not step into the litigation. The decision means a 3-0 Court of Appeals decision in favor of school employees will stand. A lawyer for the families said he would speak at an afternoon news conference. The appeals court in September said there was no evidence that Oxford staff were the 'proximate cause' of the tragedy, noting it was 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley who 'made the definite and premeditated decision' to take a gun to school, kill four students and wound seven other people. Before the shooting, he sketched images of a gun, a bullet and a wounded man on a math paper, accompanied by despondent phrases. His parents were quickly called to a meeting at school but declined to take him home. No one — parents or staff — checked the boy's backpack for a gun, though an administrator joked that it was heavy. Crumbley, now 19, is serving a life prison sentence. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are each serving 10-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said they had ignored his mental health needs, bought him a gun as a gift and then failed to safely secure it. ___ Follow Ed White at
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Court of Appeals denies Oxford High School shooter's attempt to appeal life sentence
The Michigan Court of Appeals has denied Ethan Crumbley's request to appeal his sentencing, upholding his life sentence without the possibility of parole. The decision was made by a three-judge panel on Tuesday, May 6. The court cited a "lack of merit in the grounds presented" and also rejected Crumbley's motion to remand the case, which sought to have it sent back to a lower court for further review. Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the November 2021 Oxford school shooting, pleaded guilty to all charges in 2022. In December 2024, an Oakland County judge denied his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea and reconsider his sentence. More: James Crumbley returns to court: I deserve a new trial, too After the May 6 decision, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald issued a statement supporting the ruling and highlighting the severity of the crimes committed by Crumbley. 'This ruling, first and foremost, reaffirms basic truths: On November 30, 2021, the shooter murdered Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, and Justin Shilling, he wounded seven others, and he terrorized an entire community," McDonald said. "The shooter had his day in court. A judge weighed the severity of his crimes and rendered a fair sentence." She also pointed out that the tragedy could have been prevented, noting that both Crumbley and his parents had multiple opportunities to stop the shooting. 'As Judge Kwame Rowe said at sentencing, the shooter had multiple opportunities to make different decisions. He did not,' McDonald added. 'As a society, we must start treating gun violence as the public health crisis that it is.' Attorneys for Crumbley could not immediately be reached. Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@ Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Appeals court rejects resentencing request from Oxford High shooter
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Associated Press
Michigan school shooter loses appeal in bid to withdraw guilty plea in 4 deaths
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan court said Tuesday it won't accept an appeal from a school shooter who was sentenced to life in prison in 2023 for killing four students and wounding others. The Court of Appeals turned down Ethan Crumbley's application 'for lack of merit in the grounds presented.' Crumbley pleaded guilty to the 2021 Oxford High School shooting. After he received a rare no-parole sentence, a new legal team asked a judge to set aside the life term and also allow Crumbley to withdraw the guilty plea. Oakland County Judge Kwame Rowe said no. He said Crumbley's plea was 'knowingly, voluntarily, and accurately given.' Crumbley, now 19, was 15 when he committed the mass shooting on Nov. 30, 2021. Earlier that day, his parents were summoned to discuss violent drawings and agonizing phrases written on a math assignment. They didn't take him home, and no one checked his backpack for a gun. Crumbley's appellate lawyers claim that his brain development was likely diminished by his mother's use of alcohol. Prosecutors, however, noted that fetal alcohol spectrum disorder was not raised by a psychologist who testified on Crumbley's behalf during the sentencing phase. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are serving 10-year prison terms for involuntary manslaughter. They were accused of making a gun accessible at home and failing to foresee that the mass shooting was possible.
