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Charges against James and Jennifer Crumbley splits Internet as it descends into 'racism' debate

James and Jennifer would be facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter and if convicted, they will face 15 years in prison

James and Jennifer Crumbley had little to say as they were read charges of involuntary manslaughter brought against them during their arraignment on Saturday, December 4. A two-woman team has been selected to represent them -- Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman. Smith has in the past been the defense for both Larry Nasser and Jumana Nagarwala. 

The Sheriff's Office announced on December 4 that James and Jennifer would be facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, they will face 15 years in prison. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald defended the charges saying "extreme negligence" led to the school tragedy and the pistol used by the teen fugitive was purchased by James at a Black Friday sale, in presence of his son. James is also accused of failing to keep the firearm away from his son

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The tragic incident, however, is now turning into a race war on social media. Social media users are claiming that although Black teens commit a vast majority of all juvenile homicides, Black parents rarely pay as heavy a price as Crumbley's parents are paying.

On May 14, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald tweeted, "I’ve been an attorney for almost 25 years. I have never in my experience as a prosecutor, a private practice attorney, a judge, and now as an elected prosecutor, been so concerned about the crimes in our country that come from this white supremacist extremism and violence." Referring to this tweet, a social media user wrote after Crumbley's parents were nabbed, "What happened in Oxford is tragic, but the vast, vast majority of all juvenile homicides are committed by black teens. When will black parents face 15 years for each of their children’s victims? I think parents should pay a price, but this is a miscarriage of justice!"

In another post, the user wrote, "Although only about 13% of the juvenile population, black juveniles committed about 61% of all juvenile homicides in the last year data is available for. If we are going to start prosecuting parents of offenders, then black parents should be very worried."

Several other Twitter users, however, seemed not to agree with the statements. "How many indiscriminate school shootings were the fault of Black folks?" one user wrote. "and how many bought the gun for their kid, ignored warnings from the school and refused to pull the kid out of school on the same day he shoots it up?" wrote another. One user said, "the vast majority of school shootings are done by white males. when the parents purchase the gun as a 'gift' to a minor who shouldn't have a gun according to that states laws... is when they should be charged. Thats a white people thing."

Ethan Crumbley, 15,  shot four students dead and injured over seven people at a high school in Oxford, Michigan on Tuesday, November 30. Authorities have now found videos on the suspect's phone that show him talking about killing students, a sheriff’s official said. The disclosure was made before the arraignment of Ethan Crumbley, 15, against whom Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has announced charges, 4 counts of first-degree murder, 7 counts of assault with intent to murder, 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and 1 count of terrorism causing death.