MANISTEE, Mich. – Attorneys for the incarcerated Oxford High School shooter are seeking to withdraw his guilty plea and appeal his life sentence.
A series of motions and briefs were filed on Friday, June 7 in an Oakland County court in an effort to appeal the 18-year-old Oxford shooter’s sentence of life in prison without the chance for parole. The shooter received the harshest possible sentence in December 2023 after pleading guilty to 24 felony charges in connection with the Nov. 30, 2021, mass shooting.
In documents filed last week, the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office questions whether the shooter knew what he was doing when he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, terrorism, and more charges in October 2022. The shooter, who initially pleaded not-guilty, was 16 years old when he changed his plea to guilty on all counts. He was 15 when he carried out the shooting.
Here are the crimes the shooter pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for:
- One count of terrorism causing death. Sentence given: Life in prison without chance for parole.
- Four counts of first-degree murder. Sentence given: Life in prison without chance for parole.
- Seven counts of assault with intent to murder. Sentence given: 18 years, 9 months to 80 years.
- 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Sentence given: 2 years for each count.
The defense is now requesting to withdraw the shooter’s 24 guilty pleas amid their effort to appeal his life sentence.
Evidence proving the shooter was, in fact, responsible for shooting and killing four students and injuring seven other people is overwhelming. Defense attorneys are not looking to prove the shooter did not do it, however, but rather are trying to get a less-harsh sentence for the shooter by focusing on his alleged struggles with his mental health and home life.
The State Appellate Defender Office is arguing that witnesses could have testified about the shooter’s family troubles in support of his case. Based on several areas of evidence, the shooter’s mental health appeared to be declining in the months leading up to the shooting. Defense attorneys did emphasize that, and the shooter’s complicated relationship with his parents, throughout his case.
The state defender office took control of the shooter’s case following his sentencing, and is continuing the argument that the shooter can be rehabilitated, and should at least be allowed parole.
“With the evidence the trial court had at the time, it made the decision to sentence [the shooter] to life without parole, completely foregoing the possibility of his rehabilitation,” a press release from the defender’s office reads. “This type of sentence for a child goes against what we all know about kids -- they change.”
In the press release, the office alleges that “new evidence” has been uncovered that could result in a different outcome for the shooter. The defender’s office says in addition to new witnesses, new evidence also includes the “potential impact of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder on [the shooter’s] life.”
The defense on Friday submitted motions to correct an invalid sentence along with their request to withdraw the shooter’s pleas, as is common in this type of appeal. So long as the requests are filed within six months of the sentencing, a judge has the ability to determine if a sentence was “invalid.”
Here are some reasons why a sentence in Michigan may be deemed invalid, as written by the U.S. Department of Justice:
- When it is beyond statutory limits.
- When it is based upon constitutionally impermissible grounds.
- When it is based upon improper assumptions of guilt.
- When it is based upon a misconception of law.
- When it conforms to local sentencing policy rather than individualized facts.
Experts say it’s not common in Michigan for a judge to grant a plea withdrawal for someone who pleaded guilty. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office had not made comments about the new push as of Monday morning.
On Dec. 8, 2023, Oakland County Judge Kwamé Rowe handed down the harshest possible sentence to the then-17-year-old shooter after hearing hours of emotional victim impact statements. The defense had been pushing for a parole option for the shooter leading up to the sentencing, but Judge Rowe ultimately didn’t allow it.
“The terror that he caused in the state of Michigan, and in Oxford, is a true act of terrorism. Respectfully, the defendant is the rare juvenile before this court,” Judge Rowe said then, referencing the rarity of sentencing a minor to life in prison.
The judge said the court believes the sentence of life in prison is “in the best interest of justice, as well as proportionate to the needs of this case.”
The shooter’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were this year found guilty of and sentenced for four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the four students murdered at Oxford High School. They’re the first-ever parents of a U.S. school shooter to be charged in connection with the shooting.