PONTIAC, Mich. – A teacher who was shot in the Oxford High School shooting directly addressed the shooter in court on Friday during his sentencing hearing.
On Nov. 30, 2021, a 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School brought a gun to the building and opened fire, killing four students -- 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Shilling -- and injured seven other people.
In October 2022, the shooter pleaded guilty to 24 felony charges. Judge Kwamé Rowe has ruled that the shooter is eligible to be sentenced to life in prison without parole, despite his age. The shooter’s sentencing hearing began Friday, Dec. 8.
---> Live updates: Sentencing hearing for Oxford High School shooter
Survivors and others impacted by the deadly shooting were invited to deliver victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing. Oxford High School teacher Molly Darnell was among those who provided victim impact statements. Darnell was one of the seven people shot and injured in the shooting.
“It is easier for me to see you as a monster you made an intentional plan to shatter lives because I came within your line of sight you intended to kill me. Someone you didn’t even know. Well, the life that I woke to on Dec. 1, 2021, was unrecognizable to me, you do not have the power to destroy who I am. In my heart, I still carry love, joy, and hope. I still believe in the power of humanity. There is simply too much good in this world for your actions to destroy that.
“The betrayal that was done that day goes beyond betraying the students you sat in classrooms with, and the students you walked the hall with, the teachers and staff who were there to support you and the community you lived in. It extends to educators across the state, to past graduates of Oxford High School, and to the next generation of students and teachers.
“I have first-hand knowledge of how you disregard and devalue human life. You have proven that you cannot be trusted to live within a free community. The memory of you raising your gun to me and the scar on my arm my exist, but I will continue to live a life full of the human experience because I am the writer of my own story.
“You may not be glancing my way today, but I know you can hear me. When I consider the collective pain you methodically designed for our school community, I believe you deserve to spend the rest of your life in jail without parole.
“You intended to leave my husband a widower and my children motherless. There is no forgiveness for you. But I have found that I do not need to forgive you to live a life full of kindness and compassion for both myself and others.
“To the media covering this case, my family and I request that you not use the name of this coward or any images during your media coverage. We ask that anyone reading the news about this case avoid clicking articles that include his image.
“Judge Rowe, I want to thank you for providing a safe space for victims in this case. To the officers that surround this room, thank you for your service and commitment to safety. Karen, Mark, David, and the rest of those at the prosecuting attorney’s office, thank you for fighting for victims when we did not have the strength to fight ourselves. To the crime victims rights advocates who helped shepherd us through this process, I will forever be grateful. Thank you.”