Do you believe parents should be held legally accountable for the crimes their children commit, and why or why not?

No. The only way parents can control a child's behavior is to have the child's respect. Anyone that has ever witnessed an out of control teenager knows this. If the child is not able to respect their parents then they will have to answer to a higher authority (i.e., the judicial system in this case). Parents absolutely have certain responsibilities in raising a child, but anyone who thinks "it takes a village" to raise a child must also agree that if the parents can't control a child then the village must step in. My guess is (and I'm probably in the minority…  Read more here, since I've never met anyone involved in this case and apparently everyone else in the US is on a first name basis with both the plaintiffs and the defendants) the parents had an out of control teen that requires correction that they were incapable of providing. If they don't like their child being punished by the judicial system then that's their punishment. If they do like it, it's probably because the child is getting what it deserves and what they couldn't do.