The guilty verdict Tuesday in the murder-by-proxy trial of a father whose son is accused of killing four people in a school shooting in Georgia sets a devastating and absurd precedent for imprisoning people for essentially being bad parents.
Colin Gray, 55, was found guilty in a case involving his son Colt Gray’s alleged actions before the latter’s guilt has been determined. Does this mean we no longer need to say “allegedly” in discussing the son’s criminal proceeding? Colin Gray’s conviction on two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter follows a similar case in Michigan. There, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, a teen sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting four students at his high school in 2021, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and each sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
Colin Gray’s jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding him guilty of the killings and other charges related to his failure to heed warning signs that his son was spiraling toward a catastrophic event. The verdict, and a prosecutor’s assertion that Colin Gray had blood on his hands, can be viewed as a warning to gun-owning parents who fail to notice signs that are all too clear retrospectively. The notion that this precedent would be used only in mass shooting cases involving minors and lousy (or good?) parents isn’t likely to be observed. Another prosecutor could find an irresistible application for other crimes, such as a teenage drunk driver who kills a pedestrian. What if the parent knew the teen was an occasional drinker but gave him a car anyway? Is the parent responsible for the death?
For now, the role that parenting plays in criminal behavior is worthy of serious scrutiny. Parents are never perfect, and even the worst fathers and mothers often bequeath the world exceptional offspring. Sometimes the best parents are shocked when their sweet, smart boy becomes a serial rapist, while history books are dense with the achievements of individuals born into less than ideal circumstances. Ludwig van Beethoven’s alcoholic father reportedly beat him as a child, forcing him to play the piano during the night.
We also know that siblings raised by the same parents often arrive at wildly different destinations as adults. Consider the nine siblings of John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln’s assassin. Several of them had successful careers, especially Edwin Booth, one of the greatest American actors of the 19th century.
Colin Gray’s greatest crime was giving his son an AR-style rifle for Christmas the year before the 14-year-old allegedly opened fire on Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, injuring nine others as well. The convictions could put Gray behind bars for the rest of his life. His son, now 16, faces dozens of charges, including felony murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Let’s be clear: Colin Gray and his estranged wife, Marcee Gray, were horrible parents. Given what we know about Colt’s childhood, many people would conclude that he never had a chance. According to family members, neighbors and other sources, his parents were drug and alcohol addicts who were abusive, neglectful and sometimes absent. The daughter of one neighbor said that Colt, who was often filthy, was bullied by other children who tossed dry shampoo at him. Despite repeated reports to social services by concerned neighbors and relatives, the child was neglected even by the authorities designated to protect him. A Washington Post investigation found that during the roughly three years before the shooting, Colt and his family interacted with Georgia child welfare workers, four school systems, three county sheriffs departments and two local police agencies.
Yet, the family includes two other children, who, as far as we know, haven’t fantasized about hurting themselves or other people, as Colt allegedly did. Absolutely, Colt’s father idiotically gave the boy a lethal weapon without also providing strict oversight. But if we’re going to hold one parent responsible, why not both? Marcee Gray was hardly a monument to good mothering. At one point, she said she was going to kill Colt, according to his grandmother. Colt was haunted for months and became paranoid. Though Marcee didn’t buy the gun used in the shooting, she apparently didn’t stop her husband from giving it to him as a gift, either. After the couple had split up in 2022, she had urged Colin to secure his guns. She told the Post that Colt had become obsessed with school shooters for more than a year before the shooting.
Red flags don’t come any brighter, yet Colin claims he never saw any. When Colt faces his jury, charged as an adult, his defense will surely include his difficult childhood and his father’s conviction. Colin Gray deserves to be held accountable for something, perhaps a misdemeanor or a much lighter penalty. He was not — I repeat, not — the perpetrator of this shooting. Barring a successful appeal in his case, parents — good or bad — may someday face punishment for the crimes of their children. At a time when Americans are being urged to have children to counter the declining birth rate, this case isn’t helpful.
Post Opinions wants to know: Do you think parents should be held legally responsible for their children’s crimes, especially in cases of mass shootings? Send us your response, and it might be published as a letter to the editor.
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