PONTIAC, Mich. – The Oxford High School shooter is scheduled to appear in court this week for a Miller hearing, which must be held before he can be sentenced for the 24 crimes he pleaded guilty to.
The now-16-year-old Oxford shooter has been convicted of dozens of felonies as an adult, including first-degree murder and terrorism. The crimes he’s convicted of carry heavy sentences, including life in prison without the chance for parole, which is a mandatory sentence for those convicted of first-degree murder.
But when it comes to minors, the rules are slightly different.
Though the shooter was charged and convicted as an adult, he is still considered a juvenile. The Supreme Court ruled years ago that minors cannot automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Instead, a judge must consider a number of factors before handing down a sentence.
The judge does this at what is called a Miller hearing. The Oxford shooter is expected to appear in court on Thursday, July 27, for his Miller hearing.
Here’s what that means.
What is a Miller hearing?
More than 10 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case Miller v. Alabama that mandatory life sentences without parole are unconstitutional for juveniles.
Before that hearing, Michigan law mandated that a person convicted of first-degree murder must be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. That sentence criteria was also extended to some minors, or those under 18 years old, depending on the situation.
However, the ruling in the Miller case has changed how minors convicted of first-degree murder are sentenced. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller states that instead of automatically imposing a life sentence, a “judge or jury must have the opportunity to consider mitigating circumstances before imposing the harshest possible penalty for juveniles.”
Mitigating circumstances are defined as: “Factors that lessen the severity or culpability of a criminal act, including, but not limited to, defendant’s age or extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time the crime was committed, mental retardation, and lack of a prior criminal record.”
When a minor is convicted of first-degree murder, a so-called Miller hearing must be held. In the case of the Oxford shooter, a judge will use the Miller hearing to consider if the shooter’s age will play a role in the sentencing, in addition to the mental health issues the shooter apparently faced.
The Michigan bar says a judge or jury will specifically consider the following factors during a Miller hearing:
- The defendant’s chronological age and its hallmark features -- among them, immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences.
- The defendant’s family and home environment.
- The circumstances of the homicide offense, including the extent of the defendant’s participation in the conduct and the way familial and peer pressures may have affected the defendant.
- Whether the defendant might have been charged with and convicted of a lesser offense if not for incompetencies associated with youth.
- The defendant’s possibility of rehabilitation.
The ruling in Miller v. Alabama also dictates that a prosecutor must file a motion within 21 days of the date of the minor’s conviction if the prosecutor intends to seek a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
After the Oxford shooter pleaded guilty to the 24 felony charges, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion requesting the harshest possible sentence be issued.
When will the shooter be sentenced?
It is likely the Oxford shooter will be sentenced this year, but it’s unknown exactly when that will happen. The sentencing is not expected to take place during or immediately after the Miller hearing.
At the end of the Miller hearing, the court will decide whether to sentence the minor to life without parole, or to a term of years in prison instead, the Michigan bar says. Either way, the court is required to state, on the record, the “aggravating and mitigating factors it considered in reaching its decision.”
A sentencing hearing will follow the Miller hearing, but an official date has not yet been set. It is likely the judge will schedule a sentencing hearing once the Miller hearing has wrapped up.
What was the shooter charged with?
The Oxford High School shooter was 15 years old when he opened fire on Nov. 30, 2021, and murdered four students and injured seven other people. Soon after, he was charged as an adult with 24 felonies by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
The shooter was expected to stand trial this January after initially pleading not guilty to all charges, but he changed that plea to guilty in October 2022. He has been convicted of the following crimes:
- One count of terrorism causing death.
- Four counts of first-degree murder.
- Seven counts of assault with intent to murder.
- 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
It is the first time that a U.S. school shooter has been convicted of terrorism.
Terrorism causing death and first-degree murder both carry a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole in Michigan. Assault with intent to murder in Michigan carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, or imprisonment of any number of years.
A person’s first felony firearm conviction is punishable by up to 2 years in prison in Michigan. A second felony firearm conviction carries a 5-year sentence, while third and subsequent convictions carry 10-year sentences.
The Oxford shooter’s defense attorneys recently filed a motion in an attempt to have the “life without parole” condition of his possible sentence dismissed, but that request was denied. The judge also denied the shooter’s request to wear street clothes instead of a jail jumpsuit to the upcoming hearing.
The shooter’s mother and father are also facing criminal charges in connection with the fatal mass shooting. In addition to allegedly neglecting their son and his emotional and mental health needs, as prosecutors argue, James and Jennifer Crumbley are also accused of buying their son the handgun used in the shooting.
After months of the shooter’s parents attempting to get their case thrown out, the Michigan Court of Appeals in March upheld a ruling ordering them to stand trial on the four involuntary manslaughter charges they each face.