Michigan school shooting victims to speak as teen faces possible life sentence
PONTIAC, MI — A teenager who killed four other students at a Michigan school will listen to their families and survivors of the mass shooting before a judge decides whether the attack carries a life sentence.
Crime victims in Michigan have the right to speak in court, and the final hearing Friday in suburban Detroit is likely to be tense and emotional.
Ethan Crumbley, 17, could be locked up without the possibility of parole, a sentence sought by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.
But because of the gunman's age, Judge Kwamé Rowe could also impose a shorter sentence — anywhere from 25 to a minimum of 40 years — which would ultimately make him eligible for release from the state parole board.
The shooter pleaded guilty to all 24 charges in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, including first-degree murder and terrorism.
“I'm happy that my words are being heard and that my story is being heard,” 19-year-old Kylie Ossege, who was seriously injured, recently told the Associated Press.
Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, will also have a chance to speak in court and possibly explain why he believes he should be spared a life sentence.
Defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin has argued that Crumbley deserves a chance at parole after his “sick brain” is repaired through counseling and rehabilitation.
But after listening to expert testimony, Rowe said in September that he had found only a “slim” chance that Crumbley could be rehabilitated behind bars.
In a diary, the shooter wrote about his desire to see students suffer and the likelihood that he would spend his life in prison. On the eve of the shooting, he made a video stating what he would do the next day.
Crumbley and his parents met with school staff the day of the shooting after a teacher noticed violent drawings. But no one checked his backpack for a gun and he was allowed to stay.
Like their son, Jennifer and James Crumbley are incarcerated in the county jail. They are awaiting trial for involuntary manslaughter, accused of making a gun accessible in the home and neglecting their son's mental health.
The gunman killed Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling at the school in Oxford Township, about 40 miles north of Detroit. Six other students and a teacher were also injured.
The Oxford School District has hired an outside group to conduct an independent investigation. A report released in October said “missteps at every level” — school board, administrators, staff — contributed to the tragedy.
Crumbley's behavior in class, including watching a shooting video and gun ammunition on his phone, should have identified him as a “potential threat of violence,” the report said.
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