PONTIAC, Mich. – A mandatory pre-sentencing hearing held Thursday ended with prosecutors playing a video recorded by the Oxford shooter hours before he ran through the halls of his high school in an effort to “kill everyone.”
For the first time in court, audio from a video recorded by the Oxford High School shooter was played, in which the then-15-year-old could be heard outlining his plans and motive for the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting. The shooter explicitly described the weapon he planned to use, the route he planned to take, and why he decided to shoot and kill anyone he could in the school that day.
During the pre-sentencing hearing that began Thursday, July 27, the defense was trying to establish that the Oxford shooter is not “irreparably corrupt” and can be rehabilitated. That point is important in this so-called Miller hearing, because the judge is deciding whether the shooter will be sentenced to life in prison with or without the chance for parole.
Defense attorneys argue the now-17-year-old shooter should be allowed the possibility for parole, placing blame for the shooting on alleged mental health issues and neglectful parents. Meanwhile, prosecutors argue the shooter should not be given a chance for parole due to the incredibly violent and premeditated nature of the killings.
After hearing testimony from law enforcement members involved in the shooting investigation, prosecutors shared a video as evidence that was discovered on the shooter’s cellphone after the fact. Only the audio was played, in which the shooter recorded a monologue that appeared to be intended as a message to those who found it.
In that video, the shooter declared his choice to “shoot up the school” was “for the right of humanity,” and not because of depression or other mental illness. He preceded this statement with his analysis of the world today, saying he believed humanity is doomed, and that society has reached “the beginning of the end.”
“... unfortunately, the people I kill are the people that are guilty, and I’m sorry that their families have to go through this, but it’s for the right of humanity,” the shooter could be heard saying.
He described his life as essentially empty and meaningless, saying he never had any drive or interest in a career, only in guns. He claimed that he was different and smarter than most people, and believed people are brainwashed into thinking the world is fine the way it is. He cited political turmoil, and said civilization’s “golden years” were between the 1920s and ‘80s.
“I’m going to open fire on everyone in that hallway. I will try and hit as many people as I can. I will reload and I will find people hiding. I want to teach them a lesson, of how they’re wrong, of how they’re being brainwashed,” the shooter said in the video.
The shooter said he wanted to make people feel unsafe and realize that “we’re on the brink of downfall.” He said he planned to use his 9 mm handgun to shoot anyone he could in hopes of teaching the world to become a better place.
Despite evidence showing the shooter was likely experiencing mental health issues and mental distress in the months before the shooting, the shooter himself expressed in the video that his plans were unrelated to his mental condition. He admitted to hearing voices in his head, but said, “the voices are me,” and, “there are no demons, I am the demon.”
The shooter made it clear that he understood the consequences of what he was about to do, and said he knew he was going to jail. In journal entries submitted as evidence over the last several months, the shooter frequently mentioned that he expected to spend the rest of his life in jail following the planned shooting.
He ended the video with an apology to his parents, and said he is ruining his own life and not theirs. His parents are both charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting.
After the shooter’s monologue ended, prosecutors played a shorter audio clip that was allegedly recorded immediately after the first video. In this clip, the shooter’s voice noticeably changed, and said: “That was bullshit what I said. I’m going to have so much fun tomorrow. I have a goal, and it’s to kill everyone.”
Four students were murdered and seven other people were injured in the 2021 shooting. The shooter has been convicted of 24 felonies, including first-degree murder and terrorism resulting in death. His charges carry mandatory life sentences without chance for parole, but his minor status prevents him from being immediately sentenced to life without parole.
The Miller hearing is expected to continue at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, July 28. You can watch the stream live on ClickOnDetroit.com.
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 Miller hearing.