Parent of school shooter convicted of 2nd degree murder (WGN Legal Face-Off)

Last week, Colin Gray was found guilty on 27 felony charges including four counts of second-degree murder and cruelty to children. Gray purchased an AR-15 rifle for his 14-year-old son who had extensive contact with child services and multiple police agencies, had a shrine to the Parkland shooter in his bedroom, and was involved in social media groups that promote mass violence.

While parents have faced involuntary manslaughter charges after a school shooting, this was the first murder conviction for a parent. Georgia has a legal framework that made this possible. Under state law in Georgia, second-degree murder can occur when an adult causes a child’s death through second-degree child cruelty (either criminal negligence or reckless actions). Georgia law does not require intent to kill but rather reckless behavior causing a child’s death, such as unsecured firearms or abandonment.

Legal Face-Off is a fast paced, high energy legal program dealing with the hottest issues of the day. Rich Lenkov and Christina Martini provide a legal point vs. counterpoint perspective on breaking legal news.

Rich Lenkov is a partner at Bryce Downey & Lenkov, handling entertainment law, general liability and worker’s compensation. Christina Martini is a partner at McDermott Will & Emery, focusing her practice on domestic and international trademark and copyright law.

David Riedman, PhD is the creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database, Chief Data Officer at a global risk management firm, and a tenure-track professor. Listen to my podcast—Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education & Security—or my interviews on Freakonomics Radio and the New England Journal of Medicine.

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