Michigan School Shooter’s Father Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter

The Washington Post: Father Of Oxford School Shooter Found Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter
James Crumbley, whose teenage son killed four students in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by an Oakland County jury Thursday in a verdict that caps two separate trials that made Crumbley and his wife the first parents of a school shooter to face homicide-level charges for their child’s crime. The jury of six men and six women deliberated for nearly 11 hours before finding Crumbley, 47, guilty of all four involuntary manslaughter counts. The verdict concluded the brisk eight-day trial that largely lacked the drama and hostility between the defense and prosecutors seen in Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, which ended last month with her conviction on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. (Bellware, 3/14)

The New York Times: 5 Cases When Parents Were Convicted After a Shooting by Their Child
Here is a look at other cases in which parents have been found criminally liable after a shooting by their child. (Hassan, 3/14)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

The New York Times: California Prosecutors Filing Murder Charges In More Fentanyl Deaths
Just about every state in America has cracked down on fentanyl distribution, by stepping up arrests and increasing prison sentences. But few places are as aggressive as Riverside County, Calif., in prosecuting people who supply fatal doses of fentanyl. Since late 2021, the Riverside County district attorney, Mike Hestrin, has charged 34 suspected fentanyl suppliers with murder and is said to be the first prosecutor in California to achieve a guilty verdict from a jury in a fentanyl-related homicide trial. (Corkery, 3/14)

The Washington Post: California Police Shot, Killed Autistic 15-Year-Old, Body Cam Shows 
Authorities released body-camera footage Wednesday showing the lead-up to deputies shooting and killing a 15-year-old boy with autism who was charging at a deputy with a large gardening tool, in a case that has sparked outrage. Two deputies shot Ryan Gainer in front of his Apple Valley, Calif., home after the teen came at a deputy with a raised hula hoe — a tool with a metal head used to remove weeds — on Saturday afternoon, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said Wednesday during a news conference. (Brasch, 3/14)

Politico: Legislature Proposes Major Medicaid Hikes, Setting The Stage For Funding Fight
The state Senate and Assembly proposed record-high Medicaid rate increases in their one-house budget bills this week, rebuffing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s efforts to tamp down the program’s ballooning cost in the upcoming fiscal year. Both houses called for a 3 percent rate increase and supplementary hikes for hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. (Kaufman, 3/14)

The Boston Globe: Parental Notification On Sexual Orientation And Gender Education Clears N.H. House
Schools are already required to notify parents two weeks before teaching sex education, so families can opt out. But a new Republican-backed proposal passed by the New Hampshire House in a 186 to 185 vote Thursday would expand that notification requirement to allow families to opt out of instruction on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression as well. The move, which drew condemnation from Democrats, comes amid a heightened national focus on schools, teachers, and gender. (Gokee, 3/14)

KFF Health News: A New Orleans Neighborhood Confronts The Racist Legacy Of A Toxic Stretch Of Highway
Aside from a few discarded hypodermic needles on the ground, the Hunter’s Field Playground in New Orleans looks almost untouched. It’s been open more than nine years, but the brightly painted red and yellow slides and monkey bars are still sleek and shiny, and the padded rubber tiles feel springy underfoot. For people who live nearby, it’s no mystery why the equipment is in relatively pristine shape: Children don’t come here to play. (Hawkins, 3/15)