Who is Shannon Smith? Ethan Crumbley's parents hire Larry Nassar's attorney
OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Parents of accused Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley, James and Jennifer Crumbley were arrested by the Detroit police on December 4. They were charged with 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the school massacre by their son which claimed the lives of four of his classmates. Now the accused parents have hired Shannon Smith as their defense lawyer, who is well-recognized for representing convicted child molester Dr Larry Nassar in the past. Smith had been the defense attorney for Nassar, the former physician of the USA Gymnastics Team, who was accused of molesting hundreds of underage girls and being involved with child pornography.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are currently facing a mammoth bail amount of $500,000 each, as announced by Judge Julie Nicholson at the hearing. Meanwhile, the Crumbleys have retained attorneys Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman for their defense. Though the couple disappeared soon after their charges were filed, the attorneys insist that they were not on the run. The Crumbleys have also been placed on suicide watch, as they reportedly wept after being brought to the facility. If convicted, the Crumbleys can face up to 15 years in prison.
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Who is Shannon Smith?
In 2018, Shannon Smith appeared in court as the defense attorney for notorious sexual predator Larry Nassar, when he was charged with sexually assaulting nine women. He was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to 175 years in Ingham County, followed by 125 years in Eaton County. At present, he is serving a 60-year sentence in Orlando, Florida, without parole.
Shannon Smith is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law and has been associated with the most notorious sex crimes in the state. Ironically, Larry Nassar also happened to be a doctor at the MSU, Smith's alma mater. A prominent defense attorney, Smith has also represented former MSU football star, Josh King, when he was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct. However, the ruling went in favor of the prosecution as King was sentenced to three years probation. Smith is also known for defending Dr Jumana Nagarwala who was arrested and charged for allegedly performing female genital mutilation.
While sharing about her interest in high-profile crimes, Smith once revealed in an interview, "I like the stakes being high. I love the part of this practice that lets me help my clients escape a system that can very much be a bully."
Smith's website description reads, "Most people would say that what Shannon Smith does is impossible....Shannon loves knowing that her work and teaching helps other lawyers defend even more people." She happens to be a principal attorney at Smith Law in Covington, Kentucky. Alongside, she has also launched her own vintage bottle shop known as Revival LLC.