OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The teenager convicted of killing four students at Oxford High School and injuring several other people is attempting to withdraw his guilty plea and appeal his life sentence.
The teen was sentenced in December to life in prison without the chance of parole after pleading guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism. Four students were murdered and seven other people were injured in the Nov. 30, 2021, school shooting.
A status conference was held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Oakland County before Hon. Kwamé L. Rowe. The shooter did not appear at the status conference.
On June 7, 2024, appellate lawyers working on behalf of the shooter filed a motion to withdraw his plea and a motion to correct an invalid sentence. Attorneys requested a motion hearing be scheduled on June 4, 2025, nearly a year after filing.
Rowe said that in the filing, the defendant’s motions exceeded the page limits. Additionally, the notice to be heard on June 4, 2025, was done without permission of the court.
Michigan law requires appeals to be filed within six months of a final decision, according to the judge. The defendant’s legal team filed its motion to withdraw plea one day before the time lapsed. Because of that, the court will not accept any supplemental briefs, additional briefs, or amended briefs. Rowe said to allow further briefs would “allow council to circumvent the six month time period.”
“In this court’s opinion, this clearly demonstrates to this court that defendant is trying to extend or circumvent the timing requirements as outlined in the aforementioned court rules,” Rowe said. “Due diligence comes before filing a motion and not thereafter because it assumes a court will allow additional briefing, which it is not required to do.”
The judge said the motions “clearly violate the court rules” and that he was “strongly inclined” to strike the motions. Instead, a ruling will be made on the “substance” of the motions.
The defendant’s June filings will be accepted as is, but the request for a June 2025 hearing was denied. The prosecution has until Nov. 19, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. to file its response. The court will issue a written opinion and order after that.
---> More: Oxford shooting coverage here