A critical hearing for the confessed killer in the deadly Oxford High School shooting will begin Thursday morning. Ethan Crumbley is asking a judge to avoid a sentence of life without parole after he pleaded guilty to the murders of four students and the shooting of seven other people in November 2021.
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A judge is considering several factors before deciding whether or not life in prison without the possibility of parole is an appropriate punishment for the teen.
Thursday marks the first day of what is expected to be several days of public hearings, and it's expected that survivors of the shooting will speak.
The beginning of the hearing was a deep dive into Crumbley's journal entries, detailing how he wanted to carry out the school shooting.
"I want to shoot up the f****** school so badly," he wrote.
"No matter how old he is, he made adult decisions and needs to suffer adult consequences," Sandra Arthur said. Her daughter, Phoebe, was one of the seven who were shot. "He murdered 4 people and tried to murder my daughter. He doesn't deserve a free minute outside for the rest of his existence."
Defense attorneys disagree and instead want the judge to throw out the life without parole for a shorter sentence.
Court filings show the defense team will argue his home environment and mental illness are factors to be considered.
We've learned prosecutors plan to call detectives and survivors like Phoebe to the stand and possibly show surveillance video from the devastating day.
Starting Thursday, the “All For Oxford Resiliency Center," a program of Common Ground, will offer therapy dogs and extra support.
Their hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to help process emotions. Food will also be provided at their location. The address is 1370 S. Lapeer Road in Oxford.
After the hearing is complete, the judge will review the case and a separate sentencing hearing will take place.
