But James Crumbley, 47, could face a harsher sentence after prosecutors said he made threats in jail, legal experts say.
During his trial, Matthews restricted his communication to only his lawyer and clergy.
The sentencing memo for James Crumbley referred to allegations that he made threats against the prosecutor and said that “his jail calls show a total lack of remorse” and that “he blames everyone but himself.”
The memo details the expletive-ridden threats he is alleged to have directly addressed to the prosecutor on multiple recorded jail calls. In one call before the trial, he said, “Karen McDonald, you’re going down,” according to prosecutors. In other calls, he threatened retribution, they said.
James Crumbley’s lawyer, Mariell Lehman, wrote in court documents that the calls did not include threats to physically harm the prosecutor but that he expressed his desire to ensure that McDonald is not able to continue practicing law as a result of her actions in the case.
“It is clear Mr. Crumbley is venting to loved ones about his frustrations related to the lack of investigation done by the prosecution prior to authorizing charges,” Lehman wrote, saying her client is understandably angry at his situation. She said that the alleged threatening statements were in seven calls out of the more than 200 and that in some calls he asked for prayers for the families who lost their children.
The prosecution’s memo also says James Crumbley asserted his innocence in a pre-sentence report, indicating a lack of remorse.
“I feel horrible for what happened and would do anything to be able to go back in time and change it! But I can’t. And I had nothing to do with what happened,” he wrote, according to the prosecution memo. “I don’t know why my son did what he did. HE is the only one who knows.”
Mark Chutkow, a lawyer who previously led the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office in Detroit and is not affiliated with the Crumbley cases, said Matthews will have to treat each…
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