Ethan Crumbley sentenced to LWOP for Oxford High School shooting
By now, you should know the story. In late November 2021, a then 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley shot and killed four students of Oxford High School in Michigan. With the handgun his parents bought him, Crumbley shot and killed 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Julian, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Shilling. Several others were also severely wounded in the shooting.
Crumbley was charged as an adult, and in November 2022, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and terrorism. Over the summer of this year, a Miller hearing was held to determine if Crumbley would be eligible for the sentence of life without parole, since automatic life sentences for teens were ruled unconstitutional in 2012. In October, the presiding judge ruled Crumbley is eligible for the life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. On Friday, December 8th, Crumbley finally received the life sentence he was ruled eligible for.
Victims and their families were allowed to give impact statements prior to the sentencing. Kylie Ossege was a student of Oxford High at the time of the shooting. Crumbley shot her in the back, barely missing her spine, but still left her with grave injuries.
She told the court how Hana St. Juliana essentially died in her arms.
“15 minutes of lying there absolutely helpless,” Ossege remembered. “15 minutes of lying in a pool of my own blood. 15 minutes of hearing Hana St. Juliana’s last sounds while stroking her hair and trying to encourage her.”
Hana St. Juliana’s father, Steve St. Juliana, also addressed the court…
“He purposely murdered my daughter in order to make himself feel better. His age plays no part. His potential is irrelevant. There is utterly nothing he could ever do to contribute to society that would make up for the lives that he has so ruthlessly taken,” St. Juliana said.
He’s not wrong.
29 people in total gave victim statements in court that day.
And it wouldn’t be a sentencing if the accused wasn’t allowed to make a statement, which Crumbley did.
He told the judge he deserved any sentence that would make families in Oxford feel safe and secure again but he believed he could rehabilitate himself in prison. He also apologized to the families of the victims and survivors of the shooting. “Because I really am sorry for what I’ve done, what I’ve taken from them. I cannot give it back. But I can try my best in the future to help other people and that is what I will do,” Crumbley said.
I know I say this whenever a school shooter is sentenced, but this is bullshit. He’s only sorry his fantasized results from the shooting didn’t take place. At one point, he thought the shooting would cause President Biden to be impeached. He was also caught using a jail issued tablet to view websites with violent images while awaiting trial. The only person he ever wanted to help was himself. This was nothing more than a last ditch effort to try to avoid a life sentence without parole.
As a minor, Crumbley is currently being held in a juvenile detention facility. Once he turns 18, he’ll be transferred to a state correctional facility.
(Sources)
