The question that has everyone concerned is if the Oakland County Prosecutor will seek life without parole for the 16-year-old convicted Oxford High School shooter.
Local 4 spoke with Karen McDonald to see if there was any chance that he could get out of prison decades from now.
McDonald said it seemed unlikely because the Supreme Court ruled it is unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life without the possibility of parole.
Attorney Mike Rataj said the prosecutor has to let the court know what sentence they are seeking in 21 days.
“Is there an outside chance that he could get less than life, yeah,” said Rataj. “I guess there is that possibility.”
A Miller Hearing is set for February 2023.
Local 4 Legal Analyst Neil Rockind said that the hearing would dig deep into the teen’s life, and he’s trying to avoid life without parole.
“Today was a start,” said Rockind. “It’s a plea, so he’s saving the victim’s families from having to go through a hearing. He’s making admissions that may be important to the prosecutor’s case about who purchased the gun. He may offer other evidence during the hearing or subsequent during the mitigation hearing that may ultimately help himself or hurt his parents. We don’t know.”
Read: What Oxford High School shooter said about parents during his guilty plea
