PONTIAC, Mich. – How the Oxford High School shooter will be sentenced was made known Friday when a judge delivered his decision in the shooter’s Miller hearing that ended in August.
Oakland County Judge Kwamé Rowe has been tasked with determining if the Oxford shooter’s minor status will play a factor in his sentencing, despite him being charged and convicted as an adult for the Nov. 30, 2021, massacre. At 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, Judge Rowe shared his decision in the shooter’s Miller hearing, during which he heard arguments for and against sentencing the shooter to life in prison without parole.
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Here’s what you missed: Oxford shooter can be sentenced to life in prison without parole, judge decides
What was the Miller hearing?
Under Michigan law, the Oxford High School shooter is facing a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole after being convicted of 24 felonies in connection with the mass shooting. But before the shooter could be sentenced, a pre-sentencing hearing called a Miller hearing had to be held first, because he is a minor.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling dictates that sentencing must be considered differently for people under the age of 18 years old who are facing life sentences without the chance for parole -- even if they are charged and convicted as an adult, like the Oxford shooter was. Thus, a Miller hearing was held in which an Oakland County judge heard arguments for and against handing down the harshest possible sentence for the shooter.
The hearing included multiple days of arguments and witness testimony that spanned several weeks in late July and August. The fourth and final day of the hearing took place on Aug. 18.
During the hearing, the defense painted the shooter as a troubled and mentally ill child who had a difficult home life, but is capable of rehabilitation in an attempt to obtain a parole option for him. The prosecution argued that the mass school shooting was a meticulously premeditated and violent execution that the shooter did to bring himself pleasure and fame, and that he should not be allowed parole ever.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said she believes it should be “exceedingly rare that a minor be sentenced to life without parole,” but she and her team argue that the Oxford shooter is an exception who deserves the harshest punishment possible.
Judge Rowe is deciding how the Oxford shooter will be sentenced and whether or not parole will be an option, though the Friday hearing in which he is sharing his decision is not an official sentencing hearing.
Jail time is an absolute for the Oxford shooter, who has been convicted of murdering four students, assaulting and intending to kill seven other people, terrorism causing death, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Judge Rowe will decide whether to sentence the shooter to life without parole, or to a term of years in prison instead. If the harshest sentence is not handed down, the Oxford shooter would face a minimum prison sentence between 25-40 years, followed by eligibility for parole.
Whatever the judge decides, the court is required to state, on the record, the “aggravating and mitigating factors it considered in reaching its decision,” the Michigan bar says.
The Oxford shooter’s official sentencing hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Dec. 8. That hearing will be held in person, and victims are expected to be allowed to make victim impact statements.
A legal look at the Miller hearing
The Miller hearing was not a trial, and there was no jury in this case. Both the defense and the prosecution presented their cases to the judge, who will have the sole authority to decide on a sentence for the Oxford shooter.
The hearing was mandatory because the shooter is considered a minor, despite being convicted as an adult. The now-17-year-old shooter was 15 years old at the time of the shooting. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that sentencing for minors facing life in prison without the chance for parole must be considered differently than for adults.
During a Miller hearing, a judge considers a number of factors that may or may not affect how they sentence the convicted individual. The Supreme Court’s ruling in the case Miller v. Alabama states that instead of automatically imposing a life sentence, a “judge or jury must have the opportunity to consider mitigating circumstances before imposing the harshest possible penalty for juveniles.”
The Michigan bar says a judge or jury will specifically consider the following factors during a Miller hearing, which attorneys often refer to as the “Miller factors”:
- The defendant’s chronological age and its hallmark features -- among them, immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences.
- The defendant’s family and home environment.
- The circumstances of the homicide offense, including the extent of the defendant’s participation in the conduct and the way familial and peer pressures may have affected the defendant.
- Whether the defendant might have been charged with and convicted of a lesser offense if not for incompetencies associated with youth.
- The defendant’s possibility of rehabilitation.
All of these factors were touched on by both sides during the Oxford shooter’s hearing.
Prosecutors worked to show the judge that despite potential mitigating circumstances, such as the shooter’s complex home life with his parents, the shooter actively planned, prepared for, and expressed desire to inflict serious pain. Prosecutors also emphasized that the shooting wasn’t an impulsive act, but rather a well thought-out, execution-style killing that the shooter felt would bring him notoriety.
Since the shooter has been convicted, the defense wasn’t trying to disprove that the shooter is responsible for murder, assault and terrorism. Instead, the shooter’s attorneys focused on their belief that the shooter isn’t beyond rehabilitation, which is one of the Miller factors.
The defense’s goal is to get the shooter some sort of sentence that includes an option for parole. Prison time is inevitable, but the judge will be able to decide if and when parole could be an option for the shooter down the line.
Though possible rehabilitation is one of the Miller factors, prosecutors argued that, legally, their burden is not to prove that the Oxford shooter is beyond rehabilitation. Rather, prosecutors focused more on the proportionality of the sentencing to the crime while considering the Miller factors. Prosecutors argue the severity of the shooter’s actions, thoughts, and intentions go well beyond any mitigating circumstances that might have had an impact on the shooter.
It’s up to Judge Rowe to decide what effect, if any, mitigating factors could have on the shooter’s sentence. Leading up to his decision, the Oakland County judge said planned to consider all of the evidence and testimony presented during the Miller hearing, and would conduct his own research before making a decision.
The shooter’s crimes
The Oxford High School shooter opened fire during school hours on Nov. 30, 2021, and murdered four students and injured seven other people. Soon after, he was charged as an adult with 24 felonies by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
The shooter was expected to stand trial this January after initially pleading not guilty to all charges, but he changed that plea to guilty in October 2022. He has been convicted of the following crimes:
- One count of terrorism causing death.
- Four counts of first-degree murder.
- Seven counts of assault with intent to murder.
- 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
It is the first time that a U.S. school shooter has been convicted of terrorism.
Terrorism causing death and first-degree murder both carry a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole in Michigan. Assault with intent to murder in Michigan carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, or imprisonment of any number of years.
A person’s first felony firearm conviction is punishable by up to 2 years in prison in Michigan. A second felony firearm conviction carries a 5-year sentence, while third and subsequent convictions carry 10-year sentences.
Prior to the Miller hearing, the Oxford shooter’s defense attorneys filed a motion in an attempt to have the “life without parole” condition of his possible sentence dismissed, but that request was denied.
Shooter’s parents also charged
The shooter’s mother and father are also facing criminal charges in connection with the fatal mass shooting. In addition to allegedly neglecting their son and his emotional and mental health needs, as prosecutors argue, the parents are also accused of buying their son the handgun used in the shooting.
After months of the shooter’s parents attempting to get their case thrown out, the Michigan Court of Appeals in March upheld a ruling ordering them to stand trial on the four involuntary manslaughter charges they each face.