The Oakland Country prosecutor is opposing the request by the mother of the Oxford High School shooter to be released on bond while she appeals her involuntary manslaughter convictions.
The filing this week from Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald argued Jennifer Crumbley has never taken responsibility for her actions and has little to lose after being convicted.
“Here, as the trial court previously found, defendant is a flight risk and lacks ties to the community,” said the prosecutor’s response to Crumbley’s motion to be released. “Now after being convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter and imposition of a lengthy prison sentence, she is even more of a flight risk.”
The prosecutor also said Crumbley is no longer entitled to the presumption of innocence after being convicted.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents of a school shooter known to be held legally liable for contributing to the crimes. Separate Oakland County jury trials convicted each of them on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, and they were sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Jennifer Crumbley’s attorney Michael Dezsi filed a response arguing the prosecution misrepresented some of the events following the shootings in November 2021. Dezsi said the prosecution orchestrated events to create false impressions about his client, including the parents’ arrests following the shootings in which their son killed four students and injured seven people.
The Crumbleys were arrested in a warehouse after missing their arraignment date, but Dezsi said they were prepared to turn themselves in.
“So why didn’t the prosecution work with counsel to allow the Crumbleys to walk into a police station for processing?” he wrote. “Seemingly, the prosecution was motivated by a desire to sensationalize the Crumbleys’ arrest as part and parcel of its broad ranging public relations ‘smear campaign’ that started ‘in the hours following the incident.’”
The Crumbleys argue they never should have been charged or convicted under a novel interpretation of the manslaughter law. James Crumbley’s legal counsel is preparing his appeal. The case is expected to eventually wind up before the Michigan Supreme Court.
