Screenshots / YouTube, CBS News, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

James and Jennifer Crumbley have each received sentences of up to 15 years in prison, marking a groundbreaking decision where they become the first parents to ever serve time for a child's school shooting.

Mediaite reports the parents of Ethan Crumbley who went on a deadly rampage at Oxford High School, on Nov. 30, 2021, were sentenced in a Michigan courtroom on Tuesday.

The sentence was delivered shortly after the heartbroken mother of one of Ethan’s victims criticized his parents for their lack of remorse. She pleaded with the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 15 years, a plea that was ultimately granted.

Ethan perpetrated the fatal shooting when he was 15 and is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The killer’s actions prompted charges against his parents.

The Crumbleys notably fled the Oxford Township area after the announcement of the charges. 

They remained fugitives for approximately a day, depleting their bank accounts and disabling their phones before being apprehended in a Detroit art studio. These actions were prominently highlighted during their trials.

The Crumbleys were later found to have purchased the firearm Ethan used to massacre four classmates, despite Ethan's documented pleas for assistance, as revealed in his diary entries where he lamented his parents' refusal to aid him.

The parents were convicted at separate trials in February, with juries determining that they callously ignored their son's pleas for mental health assistance, The Daily Mail reports. 

Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of slain Madisyn Baldwin, 17, criticized the couple on Tuesday as “failed parents.”

“You've shown no remorse or respect to our family,' the stricken mother said through tears. “The words involuntary should not be a part of your sentence.”

“She was the best thing to happen to me,” Beausoleil said of her daughter.

“I grew up because of her. We grew together,” she continued. “I learned from her. I mattered because of her … When you texted, ‘Ethan, don’t do it,’ I was texting Madisyn, ‘I love you, please call mom’ … Not only did your son kill my daughter, but you did as well … You failed as parents.”

Jennifer's attorney stated that she is “hugely distraught and remorseful” over the shooting, despite what others claimed during the trial, in a plea for leniency in sentencing.

Jennifer, however, faced scrutiny when she took the stand in her own defense at trial, insisting that she was not at fault and placing the blame on her husband, son, and the school. 

She testified, “I've asked myself if I would have done anything differently, and I wouldn't have.”

James was particularly targeted by prosecutors, leading to his communications being cut during his trial after he made a series of threatening jail calls. For instance, he said Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald would face “retribution.”

James read a statement before his sentencing in which he expressed that his “heart is broken for all involved.” He also emphasized that claims suggesting he had no remorse for his son's actions were untrue.

Jennifer's statement, delivered immediately after a father vehemently criticized the Crumbleys for their apparent lack of remorse, clarified that her remarks about “not doing anything differently” had been “completely misunderstood”'

“With the benefit of hindsight, my answer would be different. Ethan was not the son I knew. People used to say he was a 'perfect kid' – I truly believe that,” she said. 

Jennifer took the opportunity to caution other parents, emphasizing that they could find themselves in her position. 

“Never think this could not happen to you. This could be any parent up here,” she warned. “'I still love my son unconditionally.”  

James and Jennifer opted for separate trials, marking the first instance in U.S. history of parents being prosecuted for their child's involvement in a school shooting. Both James and Jennifer have been incarcerated since their arrest over two years ago.