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Parents of teen charged in school shooting to stand trial: middle-aged white man and woman in facemasks sit at hearing

The parents paying for their children’s crimes

By Jamiles Lartey, The Marshall Project | April 15, 2024

In separate trials earlier this year, Jennifer and James Crumbley became the first parents in U.S. history to be convicted of involuntary manslaughter for a mass shooting committed by their child.

On Tuesday, they were each sentenced to 10–15 years in prison, the maximum penalty for the crime. Prosecutors argued the Crumbleys ignored urgent warning signs that their son Ethan was having violent thoughts, and that the parents provided access to the gun he used to kill four classmates and injure seven other people at his school in November 2021.

Legal observers have said that the facts of the case are unusual, yet many still wonder if it now sets a precedent for a “slippery slope,” where more parents could be criminally charged for what their children do. “I don’t have a lot of confidence in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion to pick and choose only cases like this,” Northern Illinois University law professor Evan Bernick told Al Jazeera this week. “Once you’ve got a hammer — and this is definitely a hammer — everything can look like a nail.”

Some worry that while the Crumbleys are White, an expansion of criminal charges against parents for the actions of their children would disproportionately affect Black parents or poor parents. That’s the concern in Tennessee, where some lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would fine parents up to $1,000 if a child commits more than one criminal offense.

Many states don’t educate people sentenced to life. Now some are coming home.

Prison No Education: Black man in dark winter jacket, hat and pants stands leaning against front of bright red semi-truck parked next to a white semi-truck on asphalt parking lot under gray, rainy sky

When Yusef Qualls-El was 17, a judge sentenced him to life behind bars. It was the mid-1990s, an era when the U.S. prison population exploded.

Thousands of minors like Qualls-El received sentences of life without parole and entered prison at an age when their peers were going to college or starting their careers. But inside, education is often reserved for those who will soon return to society. As a result, those who were seen as the least likely to get out had the fewest opportunities.

Amid clamor from protesters, Tennessee Senate passes bill to arm some teachers

Tennessee arms teachers: Several adults stand and sit in balcony gallery area, many holding signs with language protesting arming teachers in schools

Amid outbursts from gun control advocates in the spectator gallery, Tennessee’s GOP-dominated Senate passed a bill Tuesday to allow some teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns in public schools. The vote was 26-5 vote along partisan lines. Lt. Gov. McNally ordered the gallery cleared after issuing several warnings to protestors before the vote, but many refused to leave, despite the urging of state troopers and warnings that they could be arrested.

Breaking walls, building bridges: A call for restorative justice in school discipline

Restorative justice: Several high school students sit in a circle of chairs having a discussion

Imagine waking up each morning with no hope for the day ahead, navigating a minefield of potential conflicts with your body on high alert. That was my reality as a marginalized youth — misunderstood, labeled as a troublemaker and cast out without a chance to reconcile and evolve. Growing up with anxiety in school is an all-too-common experience that perpetuates a cycle of fear and resentment. It’s time to acknowledge and address this narrative that adversely affects our youth’s learning experiences and the education system. Restorative justice programs are part of the solution.

More Headlines

Report: America’s growing movement to divert youth out of the justice system

For a handful of lawyers in Cuyahoga County, juvenile cases are big business

Tennessee lawmakers want more oversight of juvenile detention. The Department of Children’s Services is pushing back.

When police encounters with autistic people turn fatal

By Jamiles Lartey, The Marshall Project | March 20, 2024

Last Saturday, a San Bernardino sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Ryan Gainer, an autistic Black 15-year-old, outside his home in Apple Valley, California. The shooting, which is under investigation, came after Gainer chased the deputy with a large bladed garden tool, according to police and body camera footage released by the department. The teen’s family had called 911 when he became upset during a disagreement, broke a glass door and struck a relative. They told CNN that by the time deputies arrived, Ryan had calmed down and apologized.

Gun Safety ar Home: Very young boy leans close to hand fun on table poking one finger into barrel.

6 tips: What families need to know about how to safely store firearms at home

By Kerri Raissian, University of Connecticut and Jennifer Necci Dineen, University of Connecticut, The Conversation | March 15, 2024

For the past few years, guns have been identified as the leading cause of death for children in the United States. There were 2,571 children age 1 to 17 who died in shootings in the U.S. in 2021, 68% more than the 1,531 that occurred in 2000.

National Guard school Violence: Closeup of backs of people standing in two lines wearing camo green and brown army uniforms with an American flag in background

Is the National Guard a solution to school violence?

By F. Chris Curran, University of Florida, The Conversation | March 14, 2024

In February 2024, officials in Massachusetts requested the National Guard be deployed to a more unexpected location – to a high school.

Brockton High School has been struggling with student fights, drug use and disrespect toward staff. One school staffer said she was trampled by a crowd rushing to see a fight. Many teachers call in sick to work each day, leaving the school understaffed.

Q&A: Texas court ruling on a Black student wearing hair in long locs reflects history of racism in schools

By Kenjus T. Watson, American University | February 29, 2024

What message has the court just sent?

The court decision in Texas – and the no-long-hair policy in the Barbers Hill Independent School District – might seem outdated, misinformed or at odds with best practices for culturally responsive education. But as I and other researchers have found, strict monitoring and other anti-Black practices – such as those regarding Black children’s hair, bodies, language, clothing and even their presence – are widespread in America’s schools.

What options do Black students have?
What should school leaders consider?

Student psychiatric evaluations: Woman with long red hair in ponytail and navy sweatshirt hugs and kisses forehead of young boy with black hair

Schools are sending more kids to psychiatrists out of fears of campus violence, prompting concern from clinicians

By Meredith Kolodner and Annie Ma, Hechinger Report | February 28, 2024

The 9-year-old had been drawing images of guns at school and pretending to point the weapons at other students. He’d become more withdrawn, and had stared angrily at a teacher. The principal suspended him for a week. Educators were unsure whether it was safe for him to return to school — and, if so, how best to support him.

Active shooting training: White crossed with names in black paint and flowers on them in grassy area

Active shooter training: State-specific requirements for schools and law enforcement

By Lexi Churchill and Lomi Kriel, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica | February 14, 2024

Research revealed that about 30% of the 116 state and local officers who responded in a May 2022 survey did not get active shooter training after graduating from police academies. Of those who had been trained, many received such instruction only once in their careers.

Oxford school shooter's parents can face manslaughter trial: two people with masks sitting at table with hands cuffed while policeman looks on from background

A history of holding parents responsible for their kids’ crimes

By Mark Keierleber, The 74 | February 13, 2024

Just three days before her 15-year-old son carried out a mass shooting at his Michigan high school in 2021, Jennifer Crumbley was captured on security camera leaving a shooting range with the handgun in tow. She had just taken her son out to target practice in what she described on social media as a “mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present:” a 9-millimeter pistol the high schooler referred to online as “My new beauty.”

Here’s how I use my story to teach incarcerated kids that writing matters

By Bobby Bostik, The Marshall Project | February 2, 2024

Recently, at one of the writing workshops that I teach at three juvenile lockups in and around my hometown of St. Louis, one of my students posed a provocative question: “Why should I write about changing the world when the world doesn’t care about me?”