OXFORD (WWJ) The attorney for Jennifer Crumbley—the mother of the teen who pled guilty to killing four students during the shooting at Oxford High School—has filed a motion to release her from jail immediately while her appeal for an acquittal or new trial moves through the courts.
Attorney Michael Dezsi submitted a motion to Oakland County Circuit Court that asserted Crumbley, 45, “poses no danger to the public” and “did not commit a crime.”
“…There is no reason to deny her right to freedom while an overreaching prosecution attempts to pin the failings of a nation on the back of a parent,” her attorney, Michael Dezsi, said in a press release.
He demanded Crumbley be granted permission to leave prison right away after posting bond. Earlier this month, Dezsi filed a motion for Crumbley to receive a new trial or for her conviction to be overturned.
Jennifer and her husband, James, were both convicted during separate trials on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the November 2021 mass shooting committed by their then 15-year-old son. The ruling was historic--making them the first parents in the United States to be convicted in a mass shooting carried out by their child.
“There has never been recognition under the law that a person can be held criminally responsible for the criminal acts of another person,” Dezsi told WWJ’s Tony Ortiz. “We have no more of a duty to stop a robbery that we see on the streets, than a parent would have to stop a crime that’s going to be committed by their son.”
He also asserted the charges against her show an inherent contradiction under the law—Crumbley is charged with "failing to control her 'minor child'”— while her son was tried as an adult.
“That’s just inconsistent,” Dezsi said.
In the press release; he called the trial "riddled with legal errors where key evidence was withheld" and said keeping Crumbley in jail "sets a very dangerous precedent."
"The justice system is first and foremost based on fairness and equality. Having Mrs. Crumbley locked up..., not only casts a dark shadow over the justice system, but rewards the prosecution with a fabricated crime..." he said.
On the other hand, Oakland County Prosecutors called the Crumbleys “grossly negligent.” During the trial, they argued that Jennifer and James purchased a 9 mm handgun for their son while knowing he struggled with his mental health. Instead of addressing those concerns; they took him to a shooting range to show him how to use the gun and failed to store it properly.
Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement earlier this month that: “…two parents ignored the obvious signs that their son was in crisis, bought him a gun and failed to secure it, and then failed to disclose the existence of the gun or take their son home when he drew out his plans, including writing ‘blood everywhere’ with a picture of a gun and a body with bleeding bullet wounds. They can and should be prosecuted.”
Jennifer Crumbley was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. Sentencing guidelines recommend 43-86 months (3 1/2 years to just over 7 years) for this type of crime, Dezsi said.
She is currently housed at Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Women’s Huron Valley Facility.
“This isn’t a situation where you have a three or four year who finds a gun around the house and shoots a playmate and the parents get charged…” Dezsi said. “That’s very different than a 15-year-old who intentionally commits criminal acts, and plans those criminal acts behind his parents’ backs. They didn’t know.”
Dezsi said in a press release in early December that “parents everywhere should be worried about this case.”
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald responded: "Parents everywhere are worried. But they are not worried about being prosecuted, they are worried about their kids being shot at school. James and Jennifer Crumbley are the rare, grossly negligent exception, and twenty-four jurors unanimously agreed they are responsible for the deaths of Hana, Madisyn, Tate, and Justin.”
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office has until January 3rd to respond to Dezsi’s latest motion.
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He attempted to have the plea withdrawn in October of this year, arguing he didn’t understand the ramifications of it.
Hana St. Juliana (14), Madisyn Baldwin, (17), Tate Myre, (16) and Justin Shilling (17) lost their lives when he pulled the gun out of his backpack and opened fire inside Oxford High School on November 30th, 2021.
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Attorney Michael Dezsi's statement:
"Today my office filed an appellate bond motion on behalf of Jennifer Crumbley demanding her immediate release from custody.
Mrs. Crumbley has committed no crime, has never harmed anyone, and is certainly not a flight risk so there is no reason to deny her right to freedom while an overreaching prosecution attempts to pin the failings of a nation on the back of parent.
Our instant request is to allow her to post bond that would satisfy both the court of her promises to appear at future court proceedings and allow Mrs. Crumbley access to one of the most critical parts of the justice system – the ability to post bond.
Despite the fact that Mrs. Crumbley’s sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence as low as a 43-month prison term, Crumbley was sentenced to a 10-15 year prison term in this overreaching prosecution for a crime not recognized by the law and secured by the intentional suppression of secret agreements with two key witnesses.
The justice system is first and foremost based on fairness and equality. Having Mrs. Crumbley locked up at the Michigan Department of Correction’s Women’s Huron Valley facility, not only casts a dark shadow over the justice system, but rewards the prosecution of a fabricated crime, setting a very dangerous precedent.
My office will continue to fight for the rights of Mrs. Crumbley, while advocating for the rights of all Americans who could one day find themselves placed in a similar situation.
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As previously noted in a Media Release dated December 2, 2024, the Law Office of Michael Dezsi will vigorously defend the freedom of 45-year-old Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Ethan Crumbley, the young man who was convicted as an adult in the fatal shooting of four students and the wounding of seven others at Oxford High School.
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."