A civil jury’s decision this week to award $10 million to a former teacher shot and wounded by a 6-year-old student could weigh against the ex-assistant principal who now faces a criminal trial over the 2023 incident, legal experts said.
Teacher Abby Zwerner sued then-administrator Ebony Parker for not doing enough to prevent the shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Zwerner still feels the effects of bullet wounds to her chest and hand, she testified in the civil trial at which her pain and suffering took center stage.
Parker’s criminal trial, due to start November 17, will look at the same basic facts as the civil one but likely will focus on accusations Parker failed to heed warnings the child had a gun at school, said Darryl K. Brown, a law professor at the University of Virginia. Parker faces eight felony counts of child neglect, one for each bullet in the gun the student used.
While criminal prosecutors must meet a higher bar, a
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