Teenager who killed 4 people in Michigan high school shooting appeals life prison sentence

DETROIT– A teenager who was convicted of fatally shooting four students at his school in Michigan is appealing life sentencetheir lawyers announced on Friday.

Officials with the state Office of Appellate Defense said in a statement that they have filed a request to have Ethan Crumbley resentenced.

Crumbley, now 18, pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including one count of terrorism and four counts of first-degree murder, and was sentenced in December to life in prison without parole. He was 15 years old at the time of the shooting.

His lawyers said new evidence shows that seven witnesses could have testified about Ethan’s troubled childhood, his mother’s alcohol abuse during her pregnancy and the potential impact of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder on Ethan, including how it could have harmed his maturation.

They said the evidence also raises questions about whether Ethan knew what he was doing when he pleaded guilty to the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, and emphasized that children can change.

“A life sentence without parole for a child is unjust,” the office said.

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to a message Friday seeking comment on the appeal.

Judge Kwame Rowe said during sentencing that the shooting was well planned and that Crumbley had plenty of time to stop as he walked through the school. The judge said he was especially troubled by the way one victim was shot repeatedly and another was forced to watch as he shot a student at close range.

The teenager’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were convicted of manslaughter earlier this year after prosecutors accused them of allowing Ethan access to a gun, ignoring his mental health issues and refusing to take him home when confronted with his violent drawings at school on the day of the attack.

They were the first American parents to be convicted of a mass school shooting committed by their son.