Casey H. Needham, Your Kid, Your Crime: Wisconsin laws can place parents on trial for their child's mass school shooting, 2025 Wis. L. Rev. 1613 (2025).
The rise in school shootings across the United States has prompted prosecutors to explore new avenues of accountability. In 2024, Michigan prosecutors made history by successfully convicting the parents of a school shooter with involuntary manslaughter, marking the first such convictions in United States history. This precedent has already influenced other states, with Georgia prosecutors pursuing similar charges under their own involuntary manslaughter statutes. However, Wisconsin lacks an involuntary manslaughter statute, raising questions about how its legal framework could support parental liability in similar cases in the state.
This Comment argues that Wisconsin prosecutors can still hold parents accountable using its existing statutes, including second-degree reckless homicide and homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon. By examining Michigan’s successful conviction and the developing case in Georgia, this Comment provides a roadmap for Wisconsin prosecutors seeking to navigate parental liability for school shootings.
Additionally, as Michigan’s landmark case has already influenced legislative action on safe gun storage, Georgia is finding itself at a legislative standstill with what to do. Wisconsin may similarly find itself at this crossroad in the face of its own recent mass school shooting, making it critical for prosecutors and legislatures to focus on two important factors when taking legal action: whether a parent provides their child with an unsecured firearm and whether the parent is aware of their child’s mental health challenges. Finally, Wisconsin law offers alternative statutory mechanisms with lesser penalties, such as contributing to the delinquency of a child and two firearm-related offenses. The successful application of these laws would reinforce the expectation that parents must secure firearms in their homes or face legal consequences.
