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Father who gave gun to Apalachee High School shooter sentenced to serve 15 years in prison (apnews.com)

submitted 3 days ago by FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world to c/progressivepolitics@lemmy.world

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A man who gave his son the gun he used to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.

Colin Gray’s sentencing comes days after his son, Colt Gray, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. Colt Gray had pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.

A defense attorney for Colin Gray asked the judge for a sentence that would amount to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years on probation. The district attorney said Gray deserves a sentence of 80 years in prison.

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[–] TheCoralReefsAreDying69@lemmy.world -1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

In general, I hate this prescident of sentencing parents for the actions of their children. In this case there does seem to be serious negligence on the part of the father. I don't love this, but I definitely understand

Judge Nicholas Primm, who also sentenced Colt Gray, was blunt in addressing the elder Gray: “It is clear you failed as a parent.” But he said punishing crimes of negligence is particularly difficult because there was no intent to commit a crime.

....

Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, had shown signs of deteriorating mental health in the weeks leading up to the killings, according to testimony. He belonged to a “true crime community” online where he and other young people discussed their obsession with mass shooters, an investigator testified.

The teen’s mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators she had argued with her estranged husband weeks before the shooting, asking him to secure his guns and restrict their son’s access.

....

“You were convicted because the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter and you didn’t get him help and you didn’t remove his access to the guns,” Primm said.

[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago

He's not being sentenced for the actions of his son. He's being sentenced for his own actions in giving a deadly weapon to someone who should not have been in possession of a deadly weapon.

And that is a precedent we should be expanding.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 days ago

The father facilitated the sons actions, he was an accessory to mass murder. The whole problem of guns in the USA is lack of accountability.

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I understand that 'Guilt By Association' is kind of a sticky concept, but it's been a recurring theme in recent years where these public and mass shootings perpetrated by minors seem to have been directly preventable absent parental negligence or implicit support. For that reason, I'm glad to see the law beginning to recognize the problem and act.

To me, this is no different than an adult giving booze or drugs to minors, just significantly more catastrophic.