Michigan School Shooter, 17, Can Face Life Sentence

Topline

A Michigan judge ruled Friday that Ethan Crumbley, the 17-year-old charged with killing four students at a high school in 2021, can be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, nearly a year after he pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder charges.

Ethan Crumbley previously pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder charges after killing four students … [+] at Oxford High School in 2021.

Getty Images

Key Facts

Oakland County Judge Kwamé Rowe ruled Friday that Crumbley—who was 15 at the time of the shooting—is eligible for life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after the court determined Crumbley’s planning of the shooting does not “reflect the hallmark maturity of a child.”

Prosecutors argued Crumbley’s premeditation of the shooting justified a life sentence, according to CNN, after audio messages from Crumbley were played during testimony in July and August, in which he said: “I am going to be the next school shooter.”

Paulette Loftin, Crumbley’s attorney, argued that Crumbley was not “one of those rare individuals who is irreparably corrupt and can’t be rehabilitated,” according to the Associated Press.

Crumbley—who will be sentenced on December 8—pleaded guilty last year to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder and 19 other charges stemming from the shooting.

Surprising Fact

The hearing—also known as a Miller hearing—was required because of a 2012 Supreme Court ruling, Miller v. Alabama, which ruled that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles who committed murder are unconstitutional.

Tangent

Crumbley’s parents, Jennifer and James, were arrested shortly after the shooting and were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors claimed they purchased Ethan the gun used in the shooting while ignoring signs that he posed a threat. Rowe said the court also determined Ethan’s life at home was a “mitigating factor” in the shooting. His parents, who pleaded not guilty, are scheduled to be tried in January.

Key Background

Police arrived at Oxford High—located about 40 miles north of Detroit—after calls of an active shooter in November 2021. Officials found three students dead at the scene and seven others injured, while another student died later at a hospital. Crumbley was subsequently taken into custody. On the day of the shooting, Crumbley’s teachers warned his parents about his drawings, one of which included a bloody body and a gun pointing at the words, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.” Despite the warning, Crumbley was allowed to stay in school and his backpack was not checked for weapons. During victim statements and testimony, passages from Crumbley were revealed, including one passage that read: “I wish to hear the screams of the children as I shoot them.” Loftin argued some passages emphasized Crumbley’s deteriorating mental health, noting a line where Crumbley said he didn’t “want to be evil.”