Legal analysis of Oxford shooter guilty plea
(CBS DETROIT) - Now that Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley has pleaded guilty, his attorneys will try to make their case in a few months why the teen shouldn't face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
CBS Detroit spoke with an attorney, who isn't linked to Crumbley's case, on what's at stake moving forward for the teen suspect and his parents.
To criminal defense attorney Michael Rataj, the move by Crumbley's legal team to have him plead guilty to all 24 counts lays the groundwork for the defense's next steps.
"His attorney will argue that the parents created this situation. I mean, he's a 15-year-old boy, you know, the male brain hasn't come close to maturing," Rataj said. "He's still a child; he's a product of his environment."
Although first-degree murder means an automatic life sentence, a decade-old Supreme Court ruling allows Crumbley's attorneys to argue for a shorter sentence or even a chance of parole.
"That doesn't mean that a judge can't sentence a juvenile to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, but there has to be a hearing on it," Rataj said.
Rataj believes there's a long shot the state may consider using the teen as a key witness against his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, who are behind bars for allegedly buying the gun their son used in the Nov. 30 shooting and ignoring concerns about his mental health.
"They wouldn't argue for life if he cooperated against his parents, but I just don't see that happening," Rataj said.
Notably, Crumbley is now a convicted terrorist -- a rare charge in a mass shooting case that Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald brought forth on behalf of the survivors.
"Terrorism was just one of the charges. But obviously, the centerpiece charges of the prosecution's case were the four first-degree murder charges," Rataj said.
The now 16-year-old will be back in court on Feb. 9, 2023.
