A Michigan judge ruled that the 17-year-old Oxford High School gunman can be sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole during a Miller hearing Friday morning.
Ethan Crumbley appeared virtually from jail in an orange jumpsuit for his Miller hearing, which was held since he was a youngster to assess whether he might be sentenced to life in prison.
He was 15 at the time of the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School, which murdered Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17, and injured seven others.
A 15-year-old killed four students and injured seven others during a shooting at his Michigan high school in 2021. A judge ruled on Friday that he is eligible for a sentence of life without parole. https://t.co/t0L0rD4tNk
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 29, 2023
Oakland County Judge Kwamé Rowe said Friday that the court couldn’t identify a reason why he may be rehabilitated and that the crime lacks the “hallmarks of youth,” therefore he can be sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. The shooter’s next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20, and his sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Despite being convicted of first-degree murder, he could not be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole because of his age. Miller hearings allow the judge to determine whether or not a juvenile is eligible for such a sentence.
This crime is not the result of impetuosity or recklessness. The defendant carefully and meticulously planned and carried out the shooting.
He claimed that the court determined that the shooter’s chances of rehabilitation were “slim,” and that he continues to be obsessed with violence even in prison. The shooter appeared to shake his head and furrow his brows at this.
Lawyers argued for and against life without parole at Miller hearing procedures last month, which lasted four days and resulted in Rowe’s ruling on Friday.
The gunman was terribly neglected by his parents, and a psychologist, Colin King, referred to him as a feral child, which is a youngster who has been abandoned. Paulette Loftin, his attorney, pleaded for release, claiming that the gunman may be rehabilitated via rehabilitation.
A judge will rule on whether Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley may be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 29.
A judge is scheduled to rule September 29 on whether Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley can be sentenced to life in prison without parole, the harshest punishment available in Michigan. https://t.co/2RjhSaozRu
— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2023
During closing arguments at those hearings, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald stated, “Both things can be true we can feel compassion, but we can also fashion an appropriate sentence and reckon with the very severe, rare circumstances of this crime.
McDonald praised the instructors and students who testified about the massacre after the ruling, stating, I hope the result today brings the victims, their families, and the Oxford community some comfort. The attorney representing the gunman has been contacted.
Prosecutors in Oakland County charged him as an adult, and he pled guilty to all 24 crimes against him in October of last year.
The gunman admitted to one act of terrorism resulting in death, four charges of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of criminal firearm possession.
In America’s apparently never-ending string of school shootings, his story stands out because of his parents’ claimed and possibly legally culpable neglect.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly failing to take reasonable precautions to protect the firearm used in the incident. James Crumbley allegedly purchased that firearm just days before the onslaught.
Prosecutors say the Crumbleys were made aware of unsettling and violent imagery in a sketch found on their son’s desk the day of the shooting and were encouraged to get him counseling but instead left him at school.
The parents have argued that they could not have predicted their son going on a homicidal rampage, and defense attorneys are attempting to have the case thrown out before it even reaches a precedent-setting trial.
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