Right, as usual, concerning the law.
Whether charging parents will become a norm? I still think not, regardless of legal precedent. It's still a very high bar in these types of cases to invoke culpability under the law & new cases will still have to reach that bar.
Prosecutors usually are parents, too. In fact I would go so far as to say that the appeals court judges being parents influenced their decision. I think parents in our society are not ready to look dispassionately enough at these crimes to not take such decisions to charge other parents personally - something that also extends the high bar. Parents know it's often a crap shoot as to the choices their non-adult children make.
A) The fact that most people are parents & many parents serve on juries leads me to seriously doubt a new precedent of charging parents whose non-adult children commit these grievous crimes will lead to many convictions.
B) Also, as attorneys begin to specialize in representing parents so charged, the conviction rates will concomitantly drop IMHO.
So precedent or not, A & B remain steep obstacles to conviction.
BTW - I think this case has 2, not 3, parents charged? What have I missed?
MOO
All good points.
I think if the Crumbley's had not bought the gun and EC got the gun from somewhere else without them knowing, they wouldn't have been charged. The gun really puts it over the top.
If more DA's start charging parents I think one thing that will happen is that some parents who were going to buy a handgun for their kid, will think twice.
Pretty common to get kid's a rifle. They even have Cricket rifles for little kids. Parents teach their kids how to shoot rifles and how to hunt, time honored tradition in many families.
The Crumbley's went further and for no good reason bought their son a handgun, much easier to hide than a rifle. Other shooters have had big guns but not from parents giving them as Christmas gifts.
I think also parents will lock up their guns better, think more about it.
I would hate to see parents charged left and right, DA's overcharge as it is.
Aside from the gun, the big hurdle for the defense is a 15 year old boy actually asking for mental health help and the mom not answering those types of texts and ignoring him, even ignoring him leaving him home alone overnight. Then the dad telling him to "suck it up."
These things will get them convicted:
1.) Buying the gun
2.) Ethan only 15, asking for mental health help
3.) Ethan showing multiple instances of mental distress
4.) Parents ignoring his cries for help, not getting him any help
Didn't the mom complain online that it was too expensive to get him counseling? She was complaining about money online. No excuse, they had $ for their horse hobby. Buying horses, boarding horses, equipment for horses, vet care for horses, food for horses. Plus all the time in the world to spend with their horses.
2 Cents