Crumbley found guilty

[matt1]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 585963007/

[MWmetalhead]

Technically, he entered a guilty plea.

[km1125]

Technically, he entered a guilty plea.

Yea, it sounds like they just accepted the guilty plea. I heard one of the family lawyers say they'll still get their day in court though, when they go through the civil trial. I thought part of the reason to accept a guilty plea was so that the families would not have to relive the events through discussions during a trial. Guess that might not be so important.

And it doesn't seem like there would be a monetary advantage to seeking civil damages, unless the family has resources that I haven't heard about.

The court doesn't have to accept a guilty plea do they? I would imagine in most cases it would make the most sense though.

EDIT: rethinking that last paragraph. I'd think if there weren't any conditions the defendant put on the guilty plea (like less time or avoiding death) then I'm not really sure the could could reject the guilty plea. Anyone know the real answer?

[Mega Hertz]

They don’t HAVE to, but it does save the resources. They take the deal the prosecution offers or take their chances with the judge. I'm not 100% why they would reject a plea, though.

Maybe it's a "no contest" they can reject?

[Mike]

How much discretion does a judge get in deciding to accept/reject a guilty plea (plea bargain) that is agreed to by the prosecution and defense? Are there limits on that or no?

In any case...

Crumbley dropped a bombshell in admitting to his crimes, telling the judge that he gave his father money to buy him the gun that he used in the mass shooting, and that the gun was easily accessible — contradicting his parents' claims that the gun was securely stored.

"It was not locked," Ethan Crumbley said in court.

This absolutely doubles as strategy, with regards to the over-arching prosecution, with his plea now being admissible in his parents' trial.

[craig11152]

I'm no expert but a judge can absolutely reject a plea agreement.

[Circle Seven]

This kid is 15 years old. Yes, he was tried as an adult. But he's still 15 years old.

Like Craig just said "I'm no expert but ..".
I can't shag the feeling the defense is playing the long game. Have Ethan serve a few years. Then go back to court and ask the questions:

"Is it fair to hold accountable a spoiled 15 year old who got anything he wanted?""
"What parents just give their unsupervised 15 year old a gun?".

Seeing as he's already served some time, that defense just may afford him the opportunity to stroll out of jail.

[paul8539]

He confessed in open court, that means that he is guilty. He is guilty, that means that he doesn't need a trial. He doesn't need a trial, so that means instead of being 'executed by firing squad', he gets 'shot'.