MARTIN: Michigan shooting case reminder of parental responsibilities

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In Canada, we don’t have a charge of involuntary manslaughter like the one which saw two Michigan parents handed significant prison terms this week for enabling their teenage son to go on a killing rampage at his high school.

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But that doesn’t mean parents on this side of the border would be immune to a similar prosecution if they negligently let their child commit such a heinous act.

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Jennifer and James Crumbley were each sentenced on Tuesday to 10 to 15 years in prison for their conduct in connection with their 15-year-old son Ethan’s murderous spree at Oxford High School in Michigan.

As reported by the Associated Press, they were the first parents convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting committed by their child.

They were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in separate trials in Oakland County court, 64 km north of Detroit, the AP reported.

“The blood of our children is on your hands, too,” one parent of a victim was quoted by the wire service in addressing the convicted parents.

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The Crumbleys were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors presented evidence of an unsecured gun at home and indifference toward their teenage son’s mental health, the Associated Press said.

Ethan Crumbley is serving a life sentence for his Nov. 30, 2021, rampage in which he fatally shot four schoolmates.

While Canada’s Criminal Code does not distinguish between types of manslaughter, like the U.S. does with involuntary, voluntary and vehicular manslaughter, it does contain provisions which could see someone like the Crumbleys prosecuted here.

Manslaughter under Canadian law is defined as one of three types of culpable homicides which can result in someone’s prosecution, the other two being murder, or the extremely rare offence of infanticide where a woman through a wilful act or omission causes the death of her newborn child.

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But manslaughter can still come in different forms in the Great White North.

By simple definition, the Criminal Code defines manslaughter as “culpable homicide that is not murder or infanticide.”

It goes on to define culpable homicide as a person causing the death of a human being by “means of an unlawful act,” or “by criminal negligence.”

Criminal negligence (which can also be prosecuted by the authorities as a distinct offence) involves doing “anything” or “omitting to do anything” that is their duty to do and “shows a wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.”

So manslaughter in Canada basically falls under two broad categories of either killing someone through unlawful conduct, for example assault, or dangerous driving, without the intent necessary for murder, or through negligence.

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In legal circles they’re often referred to as criminal act manslaughter or criminal negligence manslaughter.

In the case of the Crumbleys, they had a duty as parents to ensure their son wasn’t a danger to his classmates because of mental health issues and to prevent him from having easy access to his father’s deadly handgun.

The same could apply to Canadian parents who enabled a child who showed signs of dangerousness to easily gain access to a deadly weapon.

According to the AP, Ethan drew dark images of a gun, a bullet and a wounded man on a math assignment accompanied by despondent phrases. Staff at the school did not demand that he go home but were surprised the parents didn’t volunteer it during a brief meeting. They also didn’t mention the gun their son drew resembled one the father had purchased just days earlier.

Later that same day the teen pulled that same gun out of his backpack and began shooting classmates.

It’s impossible to say whether Canadian authorities would have chosen to prosecute the Crumbleys for such conduct here. But their convictions and sentences should serve as a stark reminder of what shirking parental responsibilities can bring.

KMartin@postmedia.com

X: @KMartinCourts

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