Jennifer Crumbley's lawyer says her manslaughter conviction is 'misogynistic' and claims jury unfairly went after her for never being home to care for troubled school shooter son

Jennifer Crumbley's lawyer says attacks on her for how she raised her son before he carried out a mass shooting in his Michigan school are both 'misognistic'  and 'sexist.'

'Criticizing Mrs. Crumbley for being "rarely home" is a sexist and misogynistic attack on a mother,' Shannon Smith wrote in court records.

 'It's certainly not criminal, nor would it be expected to lead to criminal behavior by a child, particularly when it was a two-parenthousehold where Mr. Crumbley mostly worked from home — and was very close to home — even when he was DoorDashing in between jobs.'

Smith made the argument as part of court filings ahead of sentencing for Jennfier and her husband, James, on Tuesday. Both were convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the death of four students at Oxford High School in Michigan in November 2021. 

Their son, Ethan, opened fired in the school, killing Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling. Ethan was sentenced to life in prison, and his parents are the first to be convicted for a school shooting carried out by their son. 

Jennifer Crumbley's lawyer says attacks on her for how she raised her son before he carried out a mass shooting in his Michigan school are both 'misognistic' and 'sexist' 

Jennifer and her husband, James, (pictured) were both convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan by their son Ethan

Ethan had given warning signs that his parents ignored before he opened fire inside his school killing four

Ethan had made pleas for help and even made violent drawings the morning of the attack. But Jennifer and James opted not to take Ethan home that day after meeting with a counselor. Instead, they chose work. 

The parents were convicted at separate trials  and face 15 years in prison for each count. 

Now, prosecutors are asking for at least ten years in prison for the parents. James has made the argument for time served. Jennifer is asking for a reduced sentence, with her lawyer offering her guest house for home confinement.  

Crumbley has since been locked up for 23 hours a day for more than two years in the guest house, and has not had contact with her son or husband, Smith contended. 

The jury also heard that Crumbley was more interested in an extramarital affair with a fire captain, Brian Meloche, than spending time with her son. 

She admitted to using the app 'Adult Friend Finder' to carry out secret affairs, including evidence that she arranged 'meet ups' days before the shooting.

Smith said Crumbley and her family have suffered enough and that imprisoning them would not change the outcome of the situation or prevent similar situations from happening.

'She in reality has lost everything, and she is saddled with extra baggage knowing the horrific acts her son did to others and always second guessing every choice she made as a parent,' said Smith,'Mrs. Crumbley's son is, in reality, gone forever.'

'Further prison time does nothing to protect society — Mrs. Crumbley is not a threat to the community. Putting Mrs. Crumbley in prison does nothing to further deter others from committing like offenses. There is no person who would want the events of November 30, 2021, to repeat themselves.'

Jennifer admitted to using the app 'Adult Friend Finder' to carry out secret affairs, including evidence that she arranged 'meet ups' days before the shooting. She had an affair with fire captain Brian Meloche (pictured)

Jennifer and James both face 15 years in prison for each count, with prosecutors asking they be sentenced to at least 10 years behind bars

Ethan was sentenced to life in prison

Jennifer Crumbley, left, is hugged by her attorney Shannon Smith after viewing the surveillance video of Crumbley's son perpetrating the shooting at Oxford High School

As she begged for a lighter sentence, Smith argues the Crumbleys were manipulated by their son, whose dark side only revealed itself when he terrorized the school.

'Any gross negligence on her part can only be found to be parenting mistakes that any parent could make,' Smith said. 

'The shooter manipulated his parents to buy a gun, made detailed plans to commit a school shooting that he kept from his parents — even according to his own admission at his sentencing — found the hidden weapon where his father had stored it, stole the weapon, took it to school, was confronted about concerning drawings, lied effectively enough to convince school officials it was really a non-issue, and chose to open fire on his classmates and teachers.' 

Jennifer's parents have also written letters in support of their daughter, with her mom claiming their family is heartbroken over the shooting. 

'She has spent countless hours on the phone with us devastated, crying hysterically and wishing she were the one dead, not the children,' her mother wrote.

 'All of us still cannot reconcile with what Ethan did,' the mom wrote. 'Jennifer, along with us, will never be the same. We will have to live the rest of our lives heartbroken for the families, community and for the students and staff for the excruciating pain Ethan has caused.'

In her sentencing memo, Smith blasted the prosecution saying they made up a story that Jennfier ran after the shooting. 

'The prosecution repeatedly characterized and continues to present Mrs. Crumbley as a selfish, callous, evil person and horrible mother who … prioritize[ed] her own convenience over the safety to everyone in the school that day,' Smith writes. 'Mrs. Crumbley was damned no matter what she did or did not do.'

The lawyer also ripped the idea that Jennifer did not show enough emotion in the case - either in the hours after the shooting or during the heartwrenching trial.  

Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling were all killed in the shooting

Nicole Beausoleil, mother of Oxford shooting victim Madisyn Baldwin, right, reaches over to grab the hand of Craig Shilling, father of shooting victim Justin Shilling, following the guilty verdict of James Crumbley

'The prosecution certainly tried to convey that Mrs. Crumbley did not care enough about what was going on, that she did not cry enough, and that she did not behave the way a mother of a school shooter would behave — despite the fact that there really is no formula about how a mother of a school shooter would behave after such a shocking and disturbing event was committed by their child,' Smith wrote 

'Ironically, as trial progressed, when Mrs. Crumbley did cry, watching the videos of her son’s horrific actions for the first time, the prosecution objected that "she was crying."'

Finally, Smith attempted to downplay Jennifer's trial testimony where she said that she would not have changed anything. 

The lawyer argued Jennifer was referring to what she knew before the shooting and she would not have acted differently because she had no indication Ethan would shoot up a school. 

'It is possible to be sad for the victims AND the Crumbleys,' Smith wrote. 'While this is a situation that has always been certain to end in disappointment for everyone, there is nothing that can rewind the events of November 30, 2021, which created irreparable damage, unimaginable loss and a nightmare that will continue for eternity.'