Parents jailed for son's deadly school shooting

James and Jennifer Crumbley have become the first US parents to receive prison sentences for a shooting rampage committed by their child. They were each sentenced to 10-15 years in prison on involuntary manslaughter charges.

Here's what happened:

• Judge Cheryl Matthews said the Crumbleys' dual convictions were not a result of their poor parenting, but because of "repeated acts or lack of acts that could have halted an oncoming runaway train"
• She sentenced both to 10-15 years behind bars, with credit for the 858 days they have already served in Oakland County Jail
• They had both previously been found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter - one for each victim who died
• Their son Ethan, who was 15 at the time, killed four students and injured seven others. He is serving life in prison without parole
• He shot dead Tate Myre, 16; Hana St Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17
• James and Jennifer Crumbley were ordered to have no contact with the family members of the shooting victims
• In emotionally heavy victim impact statements, family members expressed disgust with the Crumbleys and said their "failure to act" had brought lifelong pain to others
• In their own statements, Jennifer and James Crumbley both expressed sorrow, but complained that they were the victims of a slanderous prosecution and a media circus

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Before the sentencing, the court heard from Buck Myre, the father of victim Tate Myre. He lauded the "strong work" of prosecutors.

"But this is no time to celebrate," he said, his voice crackled with emotion. "This has taken an incredible toll on our family."

Myre said he would not waste "a second of our time" on the Crumbleys, turning instead to other issues.

He was critical of Oakland County law enforcement for the disrespect shown to victims' families, pointing out that the local sheriff misidentified his son - a football star at the school - as a girl.

Turning to other families, he said: "It is time for the whole truth to come out."

"That's when real change happens," he said. "It's time to drive real change from this tragedy."

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Judge Cheryl Matthews summed up the case before passing sentence. Her first words were for the victims and their families.

"I will not pretend to understand the pain they [the parents] are experiencing, but I saw what you saw and heard what you heard," she said.

She offered her "sincere condolences for your unfathomable loss".

The judge said the goal of sentencing was to "to act as a deterrent", and added the charges "are not about gun ownership". Rather, they were about the failure to stop an attack.

"They [parents] are not expected to be psychic. But these convictions are not about poor parenting. They concern acts that could have halted a runaway train," she told the court.

"Opportunity knocked over and over again, louder and lounder and it was ignored."

To the parents, she said: "Mr Crumbley, there was unfettered access to a gun and ammunition. You characterised yourself as a martyr."

"Mrs Crumbley, you glorified the use of these weapons. Your attitude was dispassionate and apathetic."

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We've just heard from judge Cheryl Matthews, who sentenced both parents to 10-15 years in prison.

A jury found them both guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter - one for each victim who died.

Both James and Jennifer Crumbley are ordered to have no contact with the families of the four victims killed in their son's shooting rampage.

The judge says she will issue a future order regarding their ability to communicate with their son Ethan Crumbley, who is currently serving life in prison without parole.

The prosecution has just pushed back against defence attorneys' claims that certain pieces of evidence were excluded, and that their clients had no idea what their son was going to do.

Karen McDonald said evidence relating to James and Jennifer Crumbley showed they were aware of the issues raised by their son's school about him, and were concerned by his troubling behaviour.

McDonald said she did not initially intend to speak at today's hearing, but felt compelled to speak out.

"Remorse doesn't look like [saying] 'I feel bad,'" she said. "It's about taking accountability."

"They were not convicted because someone thought they were bad or good parents," she added.

McDonald also slams the Crumbleys for claiming "they're victims - of the school, of prosecutors and of the emotional tension of a public trial".

She emphasises that an appropriate sentence is one that exceeds the guidelines and measures the grief suffered by victims' families.

We're now hearing from Judge Cheryl Matthews.

Mariell Lehman speaks after James Crumbley.

She argues he did not know either what his son was capable of, or what he was going to do.

"He's grieved for the child he believed he had, not the one who pled guilty," she tells the court.

"James could not have predicted what his son was going to do that day."

She points out that the firearm used in the shooting was stored legally in their opinion, though opinions may differ on whether it was stored responsibly.

He "made the decisions he thought were right" and "had no knowledge of what his son was going to do", she adds.

James Crumbley stands up, takes off his headphones, and states:

"Before I address this court, I want to do something I have never been able to do throughout this time, until now.

"I want to say: I cannot imagine the pain and agony of the families who have lost their children.

"As a parent our biggest fear is losing our child. To lose a child is unimaginable. My heart is broken for everybody involved.

"My words will not bring comfort, relieve any pain," he says, adding that he realises the parents would not believe what he says.

He reads out the names of the four people his son killed: Tate Myre, Hana St Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling.

"I really want the families to know how truly sorry I am," he says.

He begins to cry before the court, and says he wishes he could have known what was going to happen.

"I would have done a lot of things differently," he says.

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Ethan Crumbley's father is now addressing the court.

He is emotional, and says: "I have cried for you and the loss of your children more than I can count."

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Shannon Smith says "there are no winners here, every person goes home a loser".

"There is no limit to the sadness and grief felt across the board in this case," she adds.

She asks the court to consider that while Jennifer Crumbley didn't oppose having a gun in the home, she "wasn't responsible for storing the gun" and believed it was locked and stored properly.

Smith appears to be raising questions about aspects of the case that have already been determined by a judge and jury, including pieces of her client's testimony and evidence that was presented.

She also notes that media and prosecutor portrayals of Jennifer Crumbley are "not congruent" with how people know her.

Judge Matthews appears to take issue with certain claims and says that she "does read everything presented" in pre-sentencing memos.

Jennifer Crumbley says that her husband once said that their son was "the perfect kid" and they did not recognise the boy who massacred his fellow students at school.

She said that, while the public perceives that they are bad parents who bred a bad child, they were "the average family" and sought to give their child every opportunity.

"I know we did our best," she added. "We were good parents."

"If there's anything that the general public can take away from this, it is that this can happen to your family too."

She adds that she is choosing to "forgive the prosecution for the slander and the hate against me and my husband".

As she sits in her jail cell, she says, "alone I grieve" in an "internal prison" for the rest of her life.

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Jennifer Crumbley says she has the deepest sorrow for the victims and families of her son's school attack.

"The weight this has taken on my heart and soul cannot be expressed in words and there's nothing I can say that will ease the pain and suffering of the victims."

She says she carries the shame over what her son did and the harm he caused to innocent lives.

She says her statement in her trial that "she would not do anything differently" was misunderstood.

"If I thought my son was capable of crimes like these my answer would have absolutely been different," she says.

We're now going to hear a statement from Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the gunman Ethan.

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The father of youngest victim Hana St Juliana, Steve, is speaking now.

He says he feels emotionally blank, partly due to having to speak to the court for the second time in six months.

He says the Crumbleys "enabled their son to murder my daughter Hana and three other children".

"They chose to stay quiet and ignore the warning signs and they continue to choose to blame everyone but themselves," referencing objections made by their lawyers earlier.

"I will never walk her [Hana] down the aisle... I am forever denied the chance to hold her or her future children in my arms," he says.

He says the Crumbleys show no remorse and asks the court to jail them for the maximum 10 to 15 years in prison.

The Crumbleys had failed their job as parents, she said. "No matter what you try to make yourself believe."

Looking directly at the defendants throughout her remarks, she told them they were a danger to society.

"Even after serving two years in jail, you do not admit to your mistakes," she said.

But she told them that, whenever they return to society, she hoped they would live life to the fullest and love others unconditionally like her sibling had.

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Reina St Juliana said she did not get the chance to say goodbye to Hana, her little sister. At 14, her life had only just begun.

"I can never do Hana justice by talking about her," she said, praising her incandescence, joy, humour and ability to connect people. "More than anything, she makes you feel seen."

"I've never known pain that could last forever until I saw Hana in a casket," she continued.

"Our 10-year-old little brother had to learn how to write a eulogy for his sister before he even learned how to write essays."

The 14-year-old had debuted on the women's basketball team only the day before the shooting, she said, and she never got to see future birthdays, school dances and so many other milestones.

Most of the shots fired that day hit Hana, she said.

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The victim impact statements we are hearing are very upsetting.

If you are following the live stream from the court, please listen with care.

Craig Shilling continues, telling the Crumbleys that "four precious lives were lost at the hands of your son."

He says both the Crumbleys saw the drawings of guns and bloodied people by Ethan and heard the requests of the counsellor - and "did nothing".

"The blood of our children is on your hands too."