Michigan teen gets life in prison for Oxford High School attack
PONTIAC, Mich. — A judge sentenced a Michigan teenager to life in prison Friday for killing four students and terrorizing others at Oxford High School, after listening to hours of gripping anguish from parents and wounded survivors.
Judge Kwame Rowe rejected pleas from defense lawyers for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole.
Moments before learning his fate, the teen apologized and appeared to agree with his victims that the stiffest punishment was appropriate.
“Any sentence that they ask for, I ask that you do impose it on me,” the shooter said. “I want them to be happy, and I want them to feel secure and safe. I do not want them to worry another day. I really am sorry for what I’ve done . ... But I can try my best in the future to help other people, and that is what I will do.”
Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the state’s highest court said the acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults. But Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said a no-parole term fit the Oxford case.
Rowe’s decision followed deeply emotional remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who spoke about how the tragedy has affected them.
Crumbley, who was 15 when the shooting happened, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and terrorism. He brought a gun to school, but his backpack was never checked, even after his parents were summoned that same day about their son’s drawings, which included a gun and words: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”
“I am a really bad person. I’ve done terrible things,” Crumbley said in court Friday.
The judge said the shooting was planned well in advance, and he noted that the shooter had plenty of time to stop as he walked through school.
Rowe was especially troubled by how victim Hana St. Juliana was repeatedly shot — “that is execution” — and that another, Justin Shilling, was shot at point-blank range in a bathroom while another student was forced to watch.
“The court cannot ignore the deep trauma caused to the state of Michigan and the Oxford community,” the judge said.
Earlier, Rowe allowed a framed photo of Tate Myre to be placed near him while the slain teen’s father spoke.
“We are miserable. We miss Tate,” Buck Myre said. “Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed — ever.”
Nicole Beausoleil recalled seeing the body of her daughter, Madisyn Baldwin, at the medical examiner’s office, her hand with bluepainted fingernails sticking out from a covering.
“I looked though the glass. My scream should have shattered it,” Beausoleil said.
Shilling’s mother, Jill Soave, told the shooter that he executed a boy who could have helped him navigate awkward teenage years.
“If you were that lonely, that miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend — if only you had asked,” Soave said.