Prosecutor seeks life without parole for Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley

If prosecutors have their way, 16-year-old Ethan Crumbley will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing four students at Oxford High School and injuring six other students and a teacher in a mass shooting last fall that terrorized a community that is still struggling to recover.

In a court filing Monday, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office sought a life sentence with no chance for parole for Crumbley, who pleaded guilty last month to all the crimes with which he was charged, including first-degree murder and terrorism.

"As we previously stated, there have been no plea bargains, no charge reductions, and no sentence agreements," Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement Tuesday. "The shooter has been offered and promised nothing. The motion filed (Monday) is a formal declaration of our intent to seek the maximum possible sentence in this case."

What's next for Ethan Crumbley

Crumbley is scheduled to be sentenced in February, though because he is a teenager, he is entitled to a so-called Miller hearing to determine whether life without parole is appropriate.

"I am disappointed by the filing, but not surprised due to the nature of the offenses that Mr. Crumbley pled guilty to," Crumbley's lawyer, Paulette Michel Loftin, said in a statement to the Free Press, adding she remains optimistic about persuading the court to impose a lighter sentence.

"The Miller hearing will give the court, as well as the public, a good inside look into the difficult home life of Mr. Crumbley and what challenges he was facing," Loftin said. "I believe that the hearing will show that Mr. Crumbley is worthy of an out date,  and that there is potential for rehabilitation inside the Michigan Department of Corrections."

The U.S. Supreme Court and Michigan Supreme Court have held that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles are unconstitutional and require a hearing to review the case. At that hearing, the judge will consider several factors in reaching a decision, including:

• Crumbley's background and mental and emotional development.

• His home life, family environment and character.

• His record while incarcerated.

• The circumstances of the crime, including the extent to which Crumbley was involved and how his family or peer pressure may have played a part.

Additionally, the burden is on the prosecution to prove that the facts and circumstances of the crime warrant life without parole, and that it's a "proper sentence."

More:Oxford schools to have Nov. 30 off, take moment of silence to mark 1 year since shooting

More:Crumbleys' novel case to test theory: Are all school shootings preventable?

In this case, the prosecution argues Ethan Crumbley has forfeited the right to ever live freely again given what he did on Nov. 30, 2021 — the day he emerged from a school bathroom and started blasting gunfire in the hallways — just as he had planned in his journal where he wrote: "The first victim has to be pretty girl ... I will kill everyone I f------ see."

"Life without the possibility of parole is appropriate in this case," the prosecution argues in its filing. "(Crumbley) has been convicted of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree, premeditated murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, as well as 12 (additional counts)."

'Did the kid really have a chance?'

Defense experts anticipate Crumbley's mental health will be a key factor at the Miller hearing, where, they note, his fate will be entirely in the hands of a judge.

"I wouldn’t expect anything different from the prosecutor in this situation," veteran defense attorney Mike Rataj said. "I’m sure Crumbley's lawyers will be seeking something less than that. The bottom line — it’s going to be up the judge."

Art Weiss, another seasoned criminal defense lawyer with four decades of legal experience, said Crumbley's upbringing and mental health will likely be scrutinized — though he may have a tough time convincing the judge he deserves a shorter sentence.

But Weiss believes Crumbley's home life may weigh in his favor. Prosecutors have disclosed numerous details about his upbringing, including that his parents allegedly drank heavily, struggled with money and ignored his mental health needs.

More:In November, send Oxford students and community a message of hope

More:Divorced Michigan couple fights over frozen embryo: She wants another baby. He doesn't.

"Listening to what went on that household, did the kid really have a chance?" Weiss said. "It’s unfortunate he acted out the way that he did."

Weiss speaks from experience. Last year, he freed a Detroit man who was sentenced to life without parole at the age of 17 for aiding and abetting a fatal pizzeria shooting in the 1990s. The man served 28 years in prison before Weiss intervened, arguing his client grew up in a violent home with no father figure, and was subjected to beatings by his mom's boyfriends.

As in Crumbley's case, Weiss argued his client had no chance. The courts agreed and freed him.

But not all cases involving juveniles are alike, noted defense attorney Wade Fink.

"Personally, and based on my experience, I don't believe it's ever appropriate to sentence an adolescent to life without at least a possibility, however slight, of parole," Fink said. "But if it's going to be sought in any case, the horror of the conduct here makes this the one."

Wolfgang Mueller, an attorney who represents the mother of 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, who was killed in the mass shooting, believes life without parole is warranted. He also represents Phoebe Arthur, 15, a survivor who was shot through the cheek, neck, a lung and two ribs.

“I think it is the appropriate penalty, even at his age,” Mueller wrote in a statement. “It was a conscious act of depravity that changed families’ lives forever. However, it doesn’t take away from the failure of the grown-ups and the school district that allowed this tragedy to occur.”

Mueller is representing both families in a lawsuit against the school district, claiming negligence.

'I have fully mentally lost it'

The sentencing recommendation comes three weeks after Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 counts, admitting that he shot up his school using a gun his parents bought for him and that he intended to cause panic and fear — just as he penned in his journal.

"I will cause the biggest school shooting in Michigan's history. I have fully mentally lost it," Crumbley wrote in a journal found in his backpack on the morning of the shooting.

Crumbley took responsibility for the murders of his classmates, Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17, and the injuries he caused to seven others who were struck by his bullets.

His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are charged with involuntary manslaughter for — prosecutors allege — ignoring a son with mental health issues and buying him a gun instead of getting him medical help.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley could get life without parole