Beyond the Verdict: What the Colin Gray precedent means for parents nationwide

Defense attorney, Charles Colin. Charles, thanks for staying with us and continuing on with this perspective following the sentencing for those of you just tuning in. Colin Gray, the father of the convicted mass shooter of Appalachia High School, Colt Gray, has been sentenced today, formerly 15 years in prison on the 27 charges he was convicted of back in March. And Charles, when Judge Nicholas Prim in the Barrow County Courthouse was delivering this sentencing. Over and over again, we heard how much this was weighing on him from negligence versus intentionality. Can you walk us through the mindset of the judge as he was trying to weigh the heavy burden he had of trying to deliver justice for those who lost family members that day. Two students, two teachers were killed in that heinous attack on September 4th of 2024 versus delivering what he would felt would be an impartial and just decision. Well, Joe, thank you for having me, and I think you really hit on it when you said negligence. And that's a word that the judge repeated over and over in the sentencing. And I think the reason that he did that was he is weighing all of these things, the heartbreak of the community, the... depravity of the crime itself against the fact that none of the crimes for which Colin Gray was convicted are crimes of anything other than negligence and so the judge really seems to have been driven by that in reaching the sentence of 15 years that keeps us in line with Michigan who also sentenced to parents in connection with the school shooting carried out by their child But I think the judge really was moved by the fact that these are criminal negligence charges rather than... Colin Gray deciding to go out himself and commit a horrible act. And Charles, one thing you heard from the judge himself is that this is the first case of its kind here in Georgia and second known nationally. And you mentioned the other case in Michigan. And one of the words he mentioned, you know, you can almost say the same word he used in this case when describing Colt and Colin together, the father and son, they were tethered together. Colt pulled the trigger. He's responsible for his own actions. But... As the judge clearly pointed out, Colin failed in his obligations as a parent, not only to protect his son, but protect others from harm that his son could possibly commit. And he kept using the word tether. How significant was that as he was detailing his case leading up to this sentence? Well, I mean, they are, they are tethered together, certainly in the judge's mind, and the judge discussed that... Colin was the but for. He repeated that. You are the but for. But for your actions, this would not have happened. But for you failing to get a gun safe, but for you failing to take away the guns, but for you behaving appropriately. I'm paraphrasing, obviously. But that was an important, important thing.

And he contrasted that with the fact that if Colt Gray wakes up that morning and decides not to do anything, no criminal charges would have been brought against Colin Gray. And I think that's very important. While they are tethered together, one is really the actor and the other person is committing a crime of negligence. And it's important to remember that this is the second time nationally the law has been used in this way. I would say it's, I mean, it's the first time nationally that a parent has been convicted of murder, murder in the second degree for their child's actions. And we know just from hearing questions earlier today when we're listening to the press conference that was held on Atlanta News First and ANF Plus hearing from... District Attorney Brad Smith, one of the questions that was asked, Charles, was describing the emotion following the sentencing that victims' families were crying and they were going to speak with the district attorney in his office following this sentencing. There's certainly a lot of emotion and a deep amount of loss and immense grief here today following what took place. Like the district attorney said the other day, there are no winners here in this matter. But what I wanted to hit on was... during this sentencing, similar to Colts, Colin did not offer any remarks from a criminal defense point of view because they are planning to appeal. What is, and I know folks at home might not want to hear about this, but I think it's important just to understand how these cases are put together. Why would Colin not say anything to the judge if they're going to appeal today? Well, that's a great question, and it speaks to the difference in the cases, I think, between Colin and Colt. You have, and I know that Colt, I don't believe, spoke either. No, he did not. Yeah. But Colt, you know, pleaded guilty. Colin had a trial, which gives him a lot more that he can appeal. There's a lot more material there. He also, you know, any statement that he would make in a situation like this would be under oath, so that could potentially... hamper his appeal in some way if there's something that they want to appeal and then he makes a statement that contradicts that, that's going to be very difficult. So I think it certainly it's on the advice of counsel. I think the defense attorneys even said that, that Colin Gray was choosing not to make a statement. What does luxury feel like when the whole family wants your blanket? Minky Couture. one touch, and you get it. Minky Couture gives you premium plush fabric, signature stretch, machine washable ease, and softness so irresistible, your whole squad will want to turn. If you want comfort that looks as good as it feels, make it Minky Couture. Shop now at minky Couture.com. Minky Couture, the blanket everybody reaches for first. And does that factor into how the judge ultimately reached his sentencing decision? Because one of the things we heard closer to him ultimately handing out that sentence, Charles, was the immense difficulty he had of trying to remain impartial, stick to the facts of the case, the crimes that he was convicted of.

against the immense loss and grief and burden that the community has felt ever since those heinous actions were taken by Colt Gray. So we talk about the appeal and trying to stay impartial. Is that really important for the judge? Was he very calculated in his remarks so that his sentencing, say, sticks if it goes to an appeal? Well, it's tremendously important for all sorts of reasons. I mean, that's really the bedrock of our justice system, and the judge spoke to this, is that he rules without passion. He has to remove his passion, the passion that he feels as a member of that community, the passion that he feels, the sympathy and the empathy that he feels for the people in that community. Most likely the anger he feels that four members of that community were taken and that nine members were wounded. He has to take all of that out of the sentencing because he's sentencing just on the law without passion without prejudice and he spoke I think in the sentencing to that difficulty to that tension and I think he one of the reasons he took time to remember the victims in his sentencing was to send a message to the community that He is not this is not any kind of a judgment on emotion on what people are feeling or or anything like that. This is really what does the law require and that's what judges have to adhere to. And you mentioned what does the law require to be very clear as the judge pointed out and as you have mentioned as well none of the crimes he was convicted of carried a mandatory minimum sentence. So he had to weigh everything, all the facts they collected during trial to reach this ultimate sentencing. And what I do want to point out, and this is mostly paraphrasing from what the judge said, and we all heard it as we were listening to the sentence come down, he said you failed the same way in both. You failed to get Colt counseling and failed to remove the guns. And like you mentioned, Charles, if Colt changed his mind like that day, like the judge mentioned, we wouldn't even be standing here. But he was the but for it. But the judge also said it matters. You didn't have actual knowledge. colt was planning matters you didn't plan the attack matters you didn't seek to harm anyone or pull the trigger himself so how much did that ultimately lead the judge to his decision to create concurrent sentences for the different charges he was convicted of versus consecutive. And if you can quickly at home walk the people at home through the difference between concurrent and consecutive. That's right. The prosecution was asking for the sentences to run consecutively, which means they would be served one after another. Running the sentences concurrently means they're all served at the same time. So while you may have received 15 years for one charge and 10 years for another, you're not going to serve 15 and then 10, that you're serving the 10 while you're serving the 15, essentially. The judge, I think, came down on the side of sentencing concurrently because he did want to sentence for all of the crimes. He didn't, you know, say, I'm not going to sentence you to anything for, you know, crime X, that he's been found guilty of all of these charges. He was sentenced on all of these charges. But the judge, given the fact that

it was a failure, it was a crime of criminal negligence. All the crimes were crimes of criminal negligence as the judge hammered. He did not want to have a sentence of the length of time that the prosecution was asking of 80 years, something like that. He felt more comfortable doing a 15-year sentence for the murders in the second degree. And as I said, that keeps us in line with the only other case like this, the case in Michigan. And to be clear, the judge did not absolve Colin Gray. A 15-year sentence in the words that were shared today does not absolve Colin Gray of what he failed to do to protect his son and ultimately protect other children who became the victims of that mass shooting. But as the judge pointed out, you know, Susan Collins 55, he did not commit any, did not have a criminal record prior, you know, to this case. So he didn't have any express he didn't have concerns that he would commit future crimes once. let out so the no criminal history i just wonder if that all factored ultimately to the to the 15 years he delivered somewhere between you know what the prosecution was seeking which i believe was 80 years in prisons what they said today versus that the 10 and plus 10 probation uh from the defense side as well that absolutely factored into it and the judge is always going to look at criminal history but here i think it's even more complex and more interesting because the key piece of the puzzle as far as Colin Gray committing a crime is Colt Gray. Without Colt Gray, there is no crime that Colin Gray was going to be charged with. So the judge, you know, if he has no criminal history at 55, the judge is going to weigh that very heavily. I mean, all of the crimes that he was charged with related to the actions of his son Colt Gray. So it's... When you're talking about likelihood to reoffend, which is something that judges think about, the likelihood of reoffense is very low. And again, for those of you who may just be joining us, we have a few more minutes here on A&F Plus. Colin Gray, sentenced today to 15 years in prison on the 27 charges he was convicted of last March, which included second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter. cruelty to children in the second degree along with reckless conduct. And that sentencing came down just about 30 minutes or so ago. And this is obviously in connection to what his son did. Colc Gray, who is the now confessed Appalachia high school shooter, killed four people, two students and two teachers. Before we let you go, Charles, one thing that I know we were talking about on Atlanta's first when we broke into this coverage was also the precedent. This now sets and also the level of accountability parents must have when it comes to protecting their own children. I mean, something the judge it stood out was at the very minimum that Susan Collins should have been very concerned that Colt might take his own life, let alone do something as heinous as kill others in a mass shooting. And so what precedent do you think this sets in terms of trying to remind parents to be, number one, safe gun owners and number two? Help your kids get help when they're showing those signs of distress. Well, I mean, the precedent it sets is that you are criminally liable as a parent.

for your children's actions in certain situations. You are not just responsible, you're not just supposed to be doing certain things, you're going to be criminally liable if you do not do them. And that is a new thing. That is very different than the way that murder statutes and manslaughter statutes have been applied in our history and it sort of remains to be seen. how many more cases like this we see, whether this is going to be the new norm with school shootings, the parents are going to be criminally charged as well as the children. And Lord willing, there are few and far between or are none and all. Like certainly hope this is a one and we never have to deal with something like this again in Georgia. Again, a first of its kind case. Charles Colin, we greatly appreciate your perspective today, helping us better understand how we arrived here at this sentence today in the Barrow County Courthouse, Colin Gray, receiving fifth. years in prison. Charles Collin, thanks so much for joining us here on A&F Plus and for all of you joining us at home throughout the last week of following the sentencing hearing of Colt and Colin Gray. We appreciate your time and we'll see you back here for ATL Live, which will be airing on Atlanta News First shortly at the top of the hour at 2 o'clock. Thank you for watching ANF Plus. For more breaking news, live coverage and your community stories, download the Atlanta News First app. You can also watch us on YouTube, Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV. To join the conversation on YouTube live, visit our channel and hit subscribe. You can also listen to the Atlanta News First podcast by searching Atlanta News First on your preferred listening platform.