Birmingham lawyer offers insight into whether more parents could face criminal charges for their child’s actions

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WBRC) – Colin Gray is just the latest parent to be charged for the actions of his child.

One of the most famous cases in which this also happened is the school shooting in Michigan, in which the parents of the shooter, Ethan Crumbley, were convicted of manslaughter.

A local lawyer says he hopes, of course, that we are not on the verge of a trend, but that this must be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Attorney Roger Appell says parents need to wake up. In connection with the Apalachee High School shooting, Colin Gray was reportedly made aware that something was wrong with his son a year before Tuesday’s shooting after the FBI investigated alleged threats on the Internet.

Appell says the parents could face at least civil, if not criminal, liability, but that would likely be decided on a case-by-case basis.

“At least civil liability where they are held liable for negligence, but this can be more than negligence. In a criminal case, there has to be more than just negligence. There has to be some kind of intent and hopefully, I just hope, this will be a wake-up call for the citizens of this country,” he said.

Appell says a parent needs to be aware that their child may be capable of something that harms others, as was the case in Georgia. If that’s the case, the parent may end up in handcuffs with their child.

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