Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley in court today for hearing on whether he should spend life in prison

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 7/27/2023, 9:52 a.m.
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Crumbley is in court Thursday morning for a hearing to determine whether he should spend the rest of …
Ethan Crumbley appears at a pre-trial hearing at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac, Michigan, in 2022. Mandatory Credit: Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP/FILE

Originally Published: 27 JUL 23 08:33 ET

Updated: 27 JUL 23 10:34 ET

By Lauren Mascarenhas and Lauren del Valle, CNN

(CNN) — Seventeen-year-old Ethan Crumbley is in court Thursday morning for a hearing to determine whether he should spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing four students and wounding seven others at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021.

Crumbley’s premeditation ahead of the shooting and propensity for violence are among the reasons he should receive a life sentence, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in her opening statement.

Crumbley’s attorney, Paulette Loftin, said the defense will show Crumbley is not “irreparably corrupt” and should be sentenced to a term of years in prison.

Crumbley pleaded guilty in October to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder and 19 other charges stemming from the mass shooting he carried out at his high school when he was 15 years old.

As an adult, Crumbley would be sentenced to life in prison without parole, the harshest punishment under Michigan law. Because he’s a minor, the court needs to hold a hearing to consider whether he should have a chance for eventual release.

The so-called Miller hearing is named after a US Supreme Court case, Miller v. Alabama, which struck down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for minors. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday and Friday and could extend into next week.

Prosecutors will argue that Crumbley deserves a life sentence without parole. Crumbley’s lawyers will present mitigating factors, including his age, home life and the possibility that he can be rehabilitated, to argue that life without parole is disproportionate.

Last week, Crumbley’s lawyers asked the judge to take the possibility of life without parole off the table before the Miller hearing. Judge Kwame Rowe denied the request, along with their requests to limit witnesses and allow Crumbley to wear street clothes during the hearing.