Ethan Crumbley’s Parents Have Been Sentenced: Is It Fair?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve had a busy week of work, family, and writing. All is going well, but enough about that.

Today, I want to talk about the verdict delivered this week for Ethan Crumbley’s parents. Ethan was the school shooter in Oxford Michigan. They both have been convicted to at least ten years in prison. This is the first school shooting in history where the parents are held accountable for their child’s actions.

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This case set a precedent, and it’s high time one has been set. Parents are responsible for their minor children’s actions. Period. End of story. I’m glad they’re held accountable. This should be a wake-up call for all parents. We need to make parenting our highest priority. But what about the school? Aren’t they responsible, too?

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That is a good question, and my response is YES. They’re responsible for the protection and care of all their students. In my opinion, Ethan should not have been able to return to classes after that fateful fifteen-minute meeting. I know, hindsight is always twenty-twenty, and I shouldn’t be an armchair quarter back, but seriously? He showed signs of being a danger to himself and others. Definite signs.

I’ve had this conversation/debate with friends, and the one issue that comes up is this. Predictability. The school doesn’t have the ability to predict which students will follow through on their urges and which ones won’t.  

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There is truth in this statement, however, since Ethan clearly showed signs he had issues, in my humble opinion that’s enough to keep him out of school until he gets a mental health assessment. The probability existed that he would act out his violent thoughts. After the assessment, if there are steps that need to be taken like counseling or medication, those steps should be taken. After those steps have been taken and a mental health professional feels the child should return to school, the child can return hopefully with new coping mechanisms in place.

We need to protect the other students. I would love to see schools integrate a system in preventing mass shootings by students. After all, we have shooter drills in many schools now. Why don’t we have steps to prevent a shooting to begin with?

Thanks for reading my post. What are your thoughts on this issue? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!