Oxford High School shooter's new defense team files motion for new sentence
(CBS DETROIT) - The new defense team for Ethan Crumbley, the Oxford High School shooter who killed four students and injured others in 2021, filed a motion in June to attempt to grant a new sentence.
On Thursday, inside an Oakland County Courtroom, Judge Kwame Rowe heard the motion and gave the prosecution until Nov. 19 to respond.
In a statement, released in June, the Michigan Appellate Defender Office, which is representing the 18-year-old shooter, said a motion was filed requesting the trial court review new evidence and grant a resentencing, arguing that the sentence "for a child is unconscionable."
"Some of that new evidence includes seven witnesses who could have discussed Ethan's childhood struggles and his mother's alcohol abuse during pregnancy; the potential impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder on Ethan's life including the social and emotional maturity of a child younger than their chronological age; and an expert witness to properly present information about Ethan and his childhood rather than one who cut and pasted information from other reports and did not understand the indicia for evaluating a life without parole sentence for a child," the defender's office statement read.
"It's going to be an uphill battle at this time," said Lillian Diallo, attorney and legal expert.
Diallo said she believes Judge Rowe will likely not allow this sentencing appeal to drag on.
This morning Judge Rowe denied a request to extend the hearing date to June 2025.
"What he's saying is that this is not going to be a novel or complex issue, let the prosecutor respond and we'll have arguments and I'll make my decision based on that response," Diallo said.
The shooter pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including murder and terrorism, in Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at his high school that killed Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Justin Schilling and Madisyn Baldwin, and injured seven others.
In December 2023, the shooter was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The shooter's parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were each found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in separate trials earlier this year and were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
During their trials, prosecutors argued that the shooting was preventable and that the Crumbley parents ignored the shooter's mental health needs and purchased the gun their son used in the shooting.
Records show he is housed in the Oaks Correctional Facility, an all-male facility.
Again, the Prosecution has until November 19 to file a response to the motion to resentence Ethan Crumbley.