PONTIAC, Mich. – The prosecution and defense on Friday continued to argue for and against a life prison sentence without parole, respectively, for the Oxford high school shooter on day two of his mandatory Miller hearing.
The pre-sentencing hearing is a requirement stemming from a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that orders courts to consider minors differently than adults when they’re facing a sentence of life in prison without parole. The Oxford shooter has been convicted of 24 felonies, some of which carry mandatory life sentences without the possibility for parole.
Since Thursday, July 27, both sides have presented witness testimony and new and familiar evidence to the judge, who will ultimately decide how to sentence the now-17-year-old shooter. The hearing has not concluded, and will resume on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
For now, let’s take a look at where things stand.
What’s been presented
On Thursday, testimony was heard from several of the prosecution’s witnesses, namely law enforcement members involved in the investigation of the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting. The shooter has since admitted to and been convicted of murdering four students that day, shooting and injuring seven other people, among other crimes.
Prosecutors on Thursday went through disturbing journal entries, text messages, and videos created by the shooter leading up to the tragic event. Some of this evidence has been shown in court throughout the last several months, but some evidence was new to the public. These writings were meant to help establish just how premeditated the violent attack was, and how much the shooter was looking forward to it.
Among that evidence was a video the shooter recorded the day before the shooting, in which he identified himself as the nation’s next mass school shooter, and explicitly outlined his plans and motive for the massacre.
Read more: Oxford shooter explains plans to ‘kill everyone’ in video recorded day before shooting
In many of the other documents, the shooter glorified weapons, school shootings, and discussed how much he wanted to carry out the mass shooting.
The prosecution introduced three additional witnesses on Friday, July 28, including two high school students and an assistant principal who directly experienced the shooting and the shooter. Their emotional testimonies offered three perspectives of the horrific event, including details of their attempts to help students who were injured or killed, and the shooter’s actions.
While Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said she agrees it should be “exceedingly rare that a minor be sentenced to life without parole,” she and her team argue that the Oxford shooter is an exception and deserves the harshest punishment possible.
Meanwhile, the defense has been working to establish the shooter as a young boy who was dealing with mental health issues and neglectful parents leading up to and at the time of the shooting. On Friday, the defense had three witnesses take the stand: an incarceration expert, the shooter’s jail-appointed therapist, and an expert in developmental psychology who specializes in child development.
Through their witnesses’ testimonies, defense attorneys have tried to show the judge that the shooter is not “irreparably corrupt” and can be rehabilitated. The witnesses, who were recognized by the court as experts, offered insight into the shooter’s mental state, how advanced his brain development was at the time of the shooting, and what rehabilitation might look like while in prison.
The defense still has at least one witness to call when court returns from recess on Tuesday.
The legal argument
This hearing, called a Miller hearing, is not a trial, and there is no jury in this case. Both sides are presenting their cases to the judge, who will have the sole authority to sentence the Oxford High School shooter.
This hearing is mandatory because the shooter is considered a minor, even though he has been charged and convicted as an adult. He was 15 years old at the time of the shooting. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that sentencing for minors facing life in prison without the chance for parole must be considered differently than for adults.
During a Miller hearing, a judge considers a number of factors that may or may not affect how they sentence the convicted individual. The Supreme Court’s ruling in the case Miller v. Alabama 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.”
The Michigan bar says a judge or jury will specifically consider the following factors during a Miller hearing, which attorneys often refer to as the “Miller factors”:
- 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.
Most of these factors were touched on by both sides during the hearing so far.
Prosecutors have been trying to show the judge that despite potential mitigating circumstances, such as the shooter’s complex home life with his parents, the shooter actively planned, prepared for, and expressed desire to inflict serious pain. Prosecutors also emphasized that the shooting wasn’t an impulsive act, but rather a well thought-out, execution-style killing that the shooter felt would bring him fame.
Since the shooter has been convicted, the defense isn’t trying to disprove that the shooter is responsible for murder, assault and terrorism. Instead, the shooter’s attorneys are focusing on their belief that the shooter isn’t beyond rehabilitation, which is one of the Miller factors.
The defense’s goal is to get the shooter some sort of sentence that includes an option for parole. Prison time is inevitable, but the judge will be able to decide if and when parole could be an option for the shooter down the line.
Though possible rehabilitation is one of the Miller factors, prosecutors argue that, legally, their burden is not to prove that the Oxford shooter is beyond rehabilitation. Rather, prosecutors are focusing more on the proportionality of the sentencing to the crime while considering the Miller factors. Prosecutors argue the severity of the shooter’s actions, thoughts, and intentions go well beyond any mitigating circumstances that might have affected the shooter.
Again, it will be up to the judge to decide what effect, if any, mitigating factors might have on the shooter’s sentence.
What’s next?
The Miller hearing is expected to wrap up on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Following the hearing, the judge will issue a decision on whether to sentence the minor to life without parole, or to a term of years in prison instead, the Michigan bar says.
The judge is not expected to make a decision at or immediately after the Miller hearing. Whatever the judge decides, the court is required to state, on the record, the “aggravating and mitigating factors it considered in reaching its decision.”
A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. It is likely the shooter will be sentenced this year, but it’s unknown exactly when.
What was the shooter charged with?
The Oxford High School shooter opened fire during school hours 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.
Shooter’s parents await trial
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, the parents 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.
Oxford support resource
The All For Oxford Resiliency Center is offering extra support to the Oxford community while the Miller hearing is underway.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 28, 31, and Aug. 1, the center will have extra support staff and therapy dogs on site for people to stop in and visit, talk, eat, and have a safe place to process their emotions.