Replay: Judge rules Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley eligible for life without parole

Update: A judge ruled Friday that Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley would be eligible for life without parole in the 2021 massacre that killed four students and injured several others. A sentencing date was set for Dec. 8.

Earlier: Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley will find out Friday if parole will be an option for the massacre he committed at 15, when he gunned down four students, injured seven others and terrorized a community in a rampage he obsessed about and planned in his journal.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame Rowe is expected to announce his decision at a 9 a.m. Friday hearing as to whether it is appropriate to sentence Crumbley to life in prison, without the possibility of parole — though he won't actually sentence him until December.

You can watch the hearing below.

The prosecution wants Crumbley locked up forever, with no chance at parole. But the defense says he's too young for that fate and deserves an opportunity to prove himself worthy of freedom one day.

Because of his age, Crumbley cannot automatically be sentenced to life without parole. Both sides have already weighed in on the issue during what's known in court as a Miller hearing and are waiting for the judge's final say on the matter.

The prosecution argues that Crumbley has forfeited the right to ever live freely again for the November 2021 mass shooting he carried out at Oxford High School, where he emerged from a bathroom with a gun and started firing, killing two of his victims execution-style. Crumbley not only showed no emotion during the rampage, the prosecution has argued, but obsessed over and detailed how he would carry out the shooting in a recorded manifesto and his journal where he wrote: "the first victim has to be a pretty girl."

According to Crumbley, who pleaded guilty to all his crimes last year, the gun he used in the shooting was an early Christmas present from his parents, given to him just days before the shooting.

The defense has argued Crumbley is too young to be locked up forever for crimes he committed when he was 15, maintaining that kids' brains are still not fully developed at that age and that Crumbley is capable of change. The defense also argues that Crumbley suffers from mental health issues that were never addressed by his parents. The defense also maintains that Crumbley had a troubled childhood and home life marked by fighting, excessive drinking and parental neglect.

Moreover, the defense has noted, even if Crumbley does get an opportunity to apply for parole one day, that doesn't mean the parole board will grant it.

Meanwhile, Crumbleys' parents are still locked up, waiting for a decision from the Michigan Supreme Court in their unprecedented case: They're the first parents in America charged in a mass school shooting.

James and Jennifer Crumbley are facing involuntary manslaughter charges for their alleged roles in the students' deaths. The parents are accused of ignoring their son's mental health issues and buying him a gun instead of getting him help.

The prosecution also maintains that the parents, more than anyone else, could have prevented the massacre had they informed the school that they had bought their son a gun when they were summoned to the school on the morning of the shooting about their son's troubling behavior. The couple said nothing and went back to their jobs. A few hours later, Crumbley emerged from a bathroom and opened fire.

The defense has fought for almost two years to get the case thrown out against the parents, arguing the charges are unwarranted, overreaching, and could set a dangerous precedent for parents everywhere who could be held liable for the misdeeds of their children. The defense also maintains that the parents never knew their son was going to carry out a school shooting that day — a key point that, it maintains, the prosecution can never prove.

The Michigan Supreme Court is expected to release an opinion in that case within the next few weeks.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Replay: Oxford shooter Ethan Crumbley eligible for life without parole