Judge to consider life factors in Ethan Crumbley's hearing in Michigan school shooting cas
DETROIT, Mich. (WWMT) — A judge is getting ready to consider all evidence made available to the court at Ethan Crumbley's Miller hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Officials say Crumbley was 15 years old at the time of the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan on Nov. 30, 2021, that killed Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling, and injured seven others.
Crumbley pleaded guilty to all 24 charges in Oct. 2022, which include murder and terrorism charges.
During a Miller hearing, the judge will consider what was happening in Crumbley's life leading up to the time of the offense.
Factors can include intergenerational trauma in the family, cultural issues or adverse childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect, witnessing domestic violence, mental health issues, family dynamics and resources that were or were not given, according to Tina Olson, managing attorney of the Juvenile Lifer Unit at the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, or SADO.
Olson is not involved with the Crumbley case, but at SADO Olson investigates and litigates cases to establish her clients need to be sentenced to a term of years, and should someday see the parole board.
When you look at someone as a teenager, you cannot predict how they are going to be in the future. When you look at someone when they are an adult, as the parole board can do when you have a term of years sentence, you know how they are going to do," Olson said.The Miller vs. Alabama case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012. In that decision, mandatory life without parole was unconstitutional for juveniles, or people who committed homicide offenses while under the age of 18.
The purpose of the case was recognizing a large body of brain science and social science that establishes teenagers are very different from mature adults, and that the science shows the brain does not develop fully until the age of 25, according to Olson.
"While it doesn’t excuse or explain why a particular offense occurred, it is something that should be taken into account when deciding what kind of culpability, what kind of punishment someone should receive for an offense someone committed under the age of 18," Olson said.
In Michigan, the vast majority of Miller hearings have resulted in a term of years sentence. That means some day the defendant can be considered by the parole board.
Michigan was one of three states that had the most people serving time for sentences they received when they were under the age of 18. More than 360 people needed to be resentenced since the Supreme Court decision in 2012. This group has been successful with a 1% recidivism rate, according to Olson.
"You know the ultimate question being, can you look at some 15, 16, 17 years old and say you are never going to be rehabilitated, you deserve to die in prison," Olson said.
During a Miller hearing the prosecution has the burden of proof to rebut a presumption of a term of years. In other words, Olson said the prosecution must prove the defendant will never be rehabilitated later in life and must remain in prison for life without the possibility of parole.
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