Ethan Crumbley doesn't want bodies of Oxford school shooting victims shown at hearing
With his last wish list denied, school shooter Ethan Crumbley has made more requests of the judge who will sentence him, including that images of his victims' bodies not be shown at an upcoming hearing that will help determine his punishment.
Crumbley, who murdered four students and injured seven others, also is trying to block the prosecution from showing security footage of the 2021 mass shooting he carried out at Oxford High School. His lawyer also wants to bar a video of him torturing a bird.
The prosecution intends to show all of this next week at Crumbley's so-called Miller hearing, a mandatory procedure during which the judge will determine whether a life without parole sentence is appropriate for his crimes.
Crumbley lawyer: Prosecutors want to shock court
"The people intend to do this in a courtroom packed full of family members of victims, and the media. This court should preclude the people from doing so because the proposed exhibits are not relevant to any of the Miller factors, and are needlessly prejudicial and inflammatory," Crumbley's attorney, Paulette Michel Loftin wrote in a court filing this week, adding the prosecution is "determined to introduce graphic evidence of the crime itself."
But this evidence, Loftin argues, is not relevant. Moreover, she stressed, her client has already pleaded guilty to his crimes and does not dispute what the prosecution intends to show.
"It can only be that the people are simply hoping to shock this court into ignoring all the Miller factors," Loftin writes.
If the judge does, however, allow the prosecution to show these exhibits, Loftin asked that the judge review them privately in his chambers, not an open courtroom.
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Loftin filed this motion Monday evening, less than 24 hours before the judge rejected her prior requests, including that the life-without-parole condition be dismissed. The judge, however, kept it on the table, and is allowing school eyewitnesses to testify at the Miller hearing, which Crumbley also opposed.
More: Judge to Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley: Life without parole still on the table
The prosecution has requested that Crumbley, who pleaded guilty last year to all the charges he was facing, including first-degree murder and terrorism, be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Because of his age — 15 at the time of the shooting — he is entitled to a Miller hearing to determine whether that punishment is warranted.
Factors in determining Ethan Crumbley's sentence
The Miller hearing is scheduled for July 27 and is expected to run two days, possibly three.
The U.S. Supreme Court and Michigan Supreme Court have held that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles are unconstitutional and require the so-called Miller hearing, during which a 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.
Crumbley's lawyer also plans to cite those factors in arguing for a lighter punishment for her client.
"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 has previously stated to the Free Press. "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."
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Crumbley, who is now 16, admitted at his plea hearing that he carried out his massacre in November 2021 with a gun that his parents had bought him as an early Christmas present. The parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are facing involuntary manslaughter charges — the first parents in America charged in a mass shooting.
They have denied wrongdoing, maintaining they had no way of knowing their son would carry out a mass shooting, and that their son is solely responsible for the deaths, not them.
Their effort to block the charges against them is pending before the Michigan Supreme Court.
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ethan Crumbley wants images of victims' bodies barred from hearing
