Michigan school shooter doesn't want bodies of his victims shown at hearing
The 17-year-old who killed four students and injured seven others in a Michigan school shooting two years ago doesn’t want their bodies shown at an upcoming hearing.
Ethan Crumbley is also trying to stop prosecutors from showing security footage of the 2021 killing spree he carried out at Oxford High School, about 45 miles north of Detroit. His lawyer also wants to bar a video of him torturing a bird.
The prosecution intends to show all of it next week at a 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 pleaded guilty to the murders last fall.
On November 30 2021, Crumbley left a boys bathroom at the school and opened fire with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol, gunning down four classmates: Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. Seven others were injured in the hail of gunfire.
His case has drawn national attention not just because of the heinous nature of the massacre but because his parents are also facing involuntary manslaughter charges — the first parents in America charged in a mass shooting.
James and Jennifer Crumbley gave him the gun he used as an early Christmas present. They were summoned to the school the morning of the shooting to discuss his disturbing behavior. He had been researching bullets online during class the day before and he drew a violent picture of guns, a bullet and blood. The Crumbleys said they would get him counseling but declined to take him home.
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.
Crumbley lawyer: Prosecutors want to shock court
In Ethan Crumbley's case, his lawyer says the prosecution is going beyond what's required to determine an appropriate sentence and is "determined to introduce graphic evidence of the crime itself."
"The people intend to do this in a courtroom packed full of family members of victims, and the media," Crumbley's attorney, Paulette Michel Loftin wrote in a court filing this week, adding that it would be "needlessly prejudicial and inflammatory." Loftin stressed that 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," Loftin writes.
If the judge does allow the prosecution to show the footage and exhibits, Loftin asked that the judge review them privately in his chambers, not an open courtroom.
The judge is allowing school eyewitnesses to testify.
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 the Miller hearing to determine whether that punishment is warranted.
More: Judge to Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley: Life without parole still on the table
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 a 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 told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. "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."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Ethan Crumbley wants images of victims' bodies barred from hearing
