Prosecutor urges life sentence for Michigan shooter who killed 4 students
CTV
A prosecutor urged a judge Friday to impose a life sentence on the teenager who killed four students at his Michigan school, arguing that his methodical planning and "appetite for violence" should keep him locked up forever.
A prosecutor urged a judge Friday to impose a life sentence on the teenager who killed four students at his Michigan school, arguing that his methodical planning and "appetite for violence" should keep him locked up forever.
"He only stopped because there was no one left to shoot. Those kids were trained to go into lockdown and they did," Karen McDonald said.
"There were hundreds of kids in that building who wrote and texted their parents very similar things: `There's a shooter. I'm scared. I love you.' ... They were helpless -- like the birds," McDonald said, referring to evidence that the shooter liked to torture birds.
Her final remarks came at the close of a tense four-day hearing that will determine whether Ethan Crumbley, 17, gets a life sentence for the attack at Oxford High School or a shorter term that would some day make him eligible for parole.
Because of the shooter's age -- 15 at the time -- Oakland County Judge Kwame Rowe must look at his maturity, mental health, tumultuous family life and other factors set by the U.S. Supreme Court. A life sentence for a minor would be rare, and the burden is on the prosecutor to show that it fits.
Crumbley pleaded guilty to murder, terrorism and other crimes. If Rowe doesn't choose a life term, the shooter would face a minimum prison sentence between 25 years and 40 years.
"Even if the defendant changes, and he finds some peace and some meaning in his life beyond torturing and killing, does not mean that he ever gets the right to live free among us," McDonald said.
