Wednesday's Oakland County Circuit Court motion by Karen McDonald requested that Ethan Crumbley's identity not be used in court and in writing in the case against James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley.
James, Jennifer Crumbley were placed on trial last month
McDonald's claimed she was trying to keep her son from gaining fame and notoriety. He is accused of shooting four students at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, which is about 30 miles (50 km) north of Detroit.
McDonald's stated that shooters want to be famous. It's a key motivator for most shooters and was certainly a motivator to the Oxford shooter. He wanted to be famous, and he wanted his name to be remembered.
McDonald's continued, "So when you repeat the Oxford shooter’s name and continue to publicize his photograph, we’re contributing to future shooting." "I am not going to be a part of that. We don't repeat the names of the shooters in court or our briefs. That's why, we ask the court to prohibit the use of this shooter's identity in open court and public filings.
The teen has been charged with murder and other offenses during a mass shooting at Oxford High School, Nov. 30. He is being held in Pontiac county jail as an adult. His lawyers said that they would pursue an insanity defense.
Separately, James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley were charged with involuntary murder . This is based on claims that they failed to secure their son a gun and ignored signs of mental distress. They are being held in the same jail.
McDonald's wrote in her court motion, "Judges have wide discretion and power to control the conduct of witnesses and lawyers in cases before them."
In the motion, she stated that "Precluding the use of the shooter’s name is necessary to the public health and in the interests of justice."
Law enforcement agencies and groups have been pushing to put more emphasis on victims of school shootings and mass shootings over the past decade.
This effort is also aimed towards news organizations. Some believe that giving celebrity status to the attackers does not help in understanding the attacks but instead encourages future attacks.
The 1999 Columbine school shooting in Denver was partly responsible for the "No Notoriety” movement. These gunmen were household names, and their deaths seemed to inspire a new generation of mass shooters.
After the shooting at a Aurora movie theatre in Colorado in 2012, 12 people were killed, including their 24-year old son Alex, Tom and Caren Teves, they founded NoNotoriety.com.
Tom Teves stated, "The reason these people do it is because they want to fame... literally they told us in their manifestos what they put up postings."
The Associated Press names major crime suspects that have been identified by law enforcement. The Associated Press does not want to mention names in cases where the crime is committed to public attention. However, it will try to keep the information brief and to avoid any descriptions that could serve a criminal's need for publicity or self-glorification. John Daniszewski, vice president of standards, stated that the AP's editor-at-large for standards, John Daniszewski.
