Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty last month of involuntary manslaughter for a mass school shooting committed by her son. Now, her husband’s legal team is fighting to block some of the testimony that helped convict her. This was ahead of his own trial for the same charges.
James Crumbley’s trial is imminent, and he’s seeking to prevent jurors from being exposed to certain evidence. Specifically, he wants to block testimony related to his son’s mental health, journal entries, and text messages sent.
Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter. This is following the tragic deaths of four students at Oxford High School.
The victims, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling lost their lives in the shooting perpetrated by her son, Ethan Crumbley, on November 30, 2021.
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Additionally, six students and a teacher were injured during the incident. James Crumbley is set to stand trial on March 5, facing the same charges as his wife, Jennifer Crumbley.
These charges stem from allegations that he purchased the gun used in the school shooting committed by their son. Also, he failed to disclose this information to school authorities when given the chance.
His lawyer is advocating to exclude certain evidence from the trial. This including the shooter’s journal and text messages sent to a friend. Legal experts have contended that these pieces of evidence, which suggest parental neglect of the shooter’s mental health issues, should not have been admitted during his wife’s trial.
Defense attorney Mariell Lehman recently contested the admissibility of the shooter’s texts and journal in a filing. She argued that it would be unjust for jurors to consider these excerpts without the defense’s ability to challenge them due to the shooter’s refusal to testify.
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Lehman is working against time to prevent evidence that she believes could unfairly harm her client from being presented at trial. The shooter’s decision not to testify protects his right against self-incrimination.
Consequently, the defense cannot dispute statements made by the shooter, such as his claim about mental health issues, potentially impacting the case’s outcome. The jury foreperson highlighted the significance of the teen’s journal in Jennifer Crumbley’s trial deliberations during media interviews.
Legal experts have suggested that the shooter’s journal and text messages could provide grounds for overturning the mother’s conviction. Lehman contends that James Crumbley’s constitutional right to confront his accuser, his son, should be upheld in this case.
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James Crumbley not only never saw his son’s journal and texts, Lehman said, but was never aware of the claims the boy was making. “As someone accused of multiple crimes, Mr. Crumbley has a right to confrontation which is granted by the United States and Michigan Constitutions,” Lehman wrote in her latest filing.
“Admitting evidence, without Mr. Crumbley having the opportunity to cross-examine the writer, violates his constitutional rights to due process, confrontation, and to present a full and complete defense.”
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