Jennifer Crumbley, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting her son carried out at a Michigan high school, is asking to be released from prison as her appeal moves through the courts.
Attorney Michael Dezsi argued in the new motion that Crumbley — who was sentenced this year to 10 to 15 years in prison — hasn’t committed any crimes, isn’t a danger to anyone and won’t run away.
Dezsi said that Crumbley should be allowed to post bond, which would let her leave the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility while promising to appear at court dates.
“There’s no reason to keep her locked up,” Dezsi said. “She hasn’t hurt anyone, and she’s not a flight risk. This case is an overreach, blaming a parent for the problems of a whole nation.”
Jennifer Crumbley and her husband, James Crumbley, were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison in April after each was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in separate trials.
The trials were a rare case of parents facing criminal charges over their role in a shooting carried out by their child.
Dezsi called the sentence unfair and claimed the case was based on secret deals with two witnesses.
“Keeping Mrs. Crumbley in prison sets a bad example and rewards unfair prosecutions,” Dezsi said.
“We’re not just standing up for her — we’re standing up for all Americans who could face this kind of situation someday,” he added.
The court hasn’t decided yet whether she’ll be allowed to post bond.
In response to the filing, Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement that the “legal issues raised by Jennifer Crumbley have already been heard and rejected by the Michigan Court of Appeals” and that she should remain in prison serving her sentence during the appeals process.
“Jennifer Crumbley was tried by a jury of her peers for her own actions and inactions leading to the shooting at Oxford High School — not for the actions of her son, the Oxford High School shooter,” Williams said in the statement. “A jury of twelve individuals listened to testimony and reviewed countless pieces of evidence before they unanimously found her guilty as charged and she was sentenced by the judge accordingly. This was an egregious set of facts that resulted in a conviction along with a 10–15-year prison sentence.”
The Crumbleys’ son, Ethan Crumbley, was 15 years old at the time he opened fire at Oxford High School in 2021, killing four students. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors said Jennifer and James Crumbley ignored several warning signs in the days leading up to the shooting. The parents also bought their son the gun used in the shooting and failed to secure the weapon and limit their son’s access to it, prosecutors argued.
