OXFORD, Mich. – Dozens of victims spoke during the sentencing hearing for the student who opened fire inside Oxford High School more than two years ago, killing four and injuring seven.
Quick facts:
- In total, 29 people delivered victim impact statements during Friday’s hearing.
- Judge Kwamé Rowe sentenced the shooter to life in prison without parole on each of the first five counts.
- The 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School brought a gun to the building on Nov. 30, 2021, and opened fire, killing four students -- 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Shilling -- and injuring seven other people.
- The shooter pleaded guilty to 24 felony charges in October 2022.
- Both of the shooter’s parents are facing involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the shooter. A judge recently granted their request to have separate trials. They are not allowed to attend their son’s sentencing.
Click here to read a full timeline of events since the shooting.
Here’s what happened in the courtroom on Friday -- scroll to the bottom first to read in chronological order.
Shooter leaves courtroom
- 4:03 p.m.
The shooter left the courtroom and the proceedings ended.
Life without parole
- 3:59 p.m.
The judge sentenced the shooter to life without the possibility of parole on the terrorism causing death charge, as well as on each of the four counts of first-degree premeditated murder.
On each of the seven assault with intent to murder charges, he was sentenced to 18 years, 9 months to 80 years.
On each of the 12 felony firearm violations, he was sentenced to two years.
Shooter speaks
- 3:47 p.m.
The shooter was allowed an opportunity to speak before the judge made his decision.
“I would like to thank you for letting me speak, Your Honor,” the shooter said. “We are all here because of me today, of what I did. My actions were because of what I chose to do. I could not stop myself, but I am the one who led to why we are here today.
“I do not diminish any ability to anyone who could have stopped me, of anyone at the school, or parents. They did not know and I did not tell them what I planned to do, so they are not at fault for what I’ve done. I am a really bad person. I have done terrible things that no one should ever do.
“I have lied, been not trustworthy, I’ve hurt many people, and that’s what I’ve done, and I’m not denying it. But that’s not who I plan to be. Whatever sentence it is, I do plan to be better than I am. I don’t know if you’ll believe that, but records of 15, 20, 25 years can show that I will change. It may not show it now with only two years of records, but I am trying, and all I want is for the people I hurt to just have a final sense of culpability that justice has someone been served in any capacity that they can recognize it with. Any sentence that they ask for, I ask that you do impose it on me, because I want to be happy, and I want them to feel secure and safe, and I do not want them to worry another day.
“I really am sorry for what I’ve done, for what I’ve taken from them. I cannot give it back, but I can try my best in the future to help other people, and that is what I will do. Thank you, Your Honor.”
Defense attorney Paulette Loftin makes statement
- 3:36 p.m.
Defense attorney Paulette Loftin also spoke on his behalf, saying her comments are not intended to take away from the pain that the shooting caused.
She said when he realized the pain he had caused, he did not take it lightly.
“(He) has never bragged about what he did,” Loftin said. “(He) dreaded in-court hearings because, unlike what has been said about him and what he wrote in that journal, he doesn’t like attention.”
She said after meeting with him for two years, she believes the journal was the “worst of the worst.”
Loftin asked the judge to sentence the shooter to a term of years.
Defense lawyer Amy Hopp makes statement
- 3:24 p.m.
Amy Hopp, one of the shooter’s defense lawyers spoke at length about his favorite book, Making Bombs For Hitler.
Hopp also talked about the prison system.
“What it does do is give (the shooter) the opportunity to demonstrate to everyone that he can be rehabilitated, that he is redeemable, and that he can make amends and contribute in a positive way to society upon his release,” Hopp said. “The (name) I met two years ago is not the (name) that sits here today for sentencing. He has made remarkable progress in addressing his issues.
“That’s not to say he doesn’t have a ways to go, because he does. But that’s to say he’s demonstrated that he can change himself for the better. For those reasons, I ask Your Honor to consider a term of years, instead of a life without parole.”
Shooter’s lawyer-guardian ad litem speaks
- 3:20 p.m.
The shooter’s lawyer-guardian ad litem, Deborah McKelvy, spoke on his behalf. She said she has gotten to know him over the past two years.
She asked the judge not to lose track of the fact that the shooter is a human being.
McKelvy said she would spend hours in jail talking to him.
“His life is salvageable,” McKelvy said. “His life is rehabilitatable.
“You have to fashion a sentence that is punishment, deterrence, protection, retribution, and rehabilitation. If you look at him as a human being who is salvageable, who is rehabilitatable, then life in prison without parole is not the correct sentence.”
She argued his life is worth “more than the worst thing he did.”
She asked him to sentence him to a term of years.
As McKelvy was speaking, this is what Shawn Ley saw in the courtroom: “What I am watching is the victims’ family members. They are listening with such respect for this process. No one is shaking their heads or reacting. Not one person has shown what they are thinking right now.”
Prosecution makes statement
- 3:08 p.m.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald made a brief statement following the break.
She argued that no failure by school officials could diminish the shooter’s role in the attack.
“There were numerous decision points where he had an opportunity to choose another path,” McDonald said.
“Today was about victims. Today we learned their names, their faces, and we heard their voices. It’s been two years. Two years. The statements made here today are just a small portion of the victims and their statements are only brief, but they reflect hundreds and hundreds of others. I’m not sure if the court is aware, but there were a lot more victims who initially intended to voice their oral statements and as today approached -- and even today -- decided that wasn’t something they could do, which is further evidence of the trauma.
“There were common themes from these students. They don’t trust anyone anymore. They don’t trust any place anymore. They don’t think they’re safe. Some can’t sleep. Some have to sleep in their parents’ room. There’s a deep, deep loss -- loss of safety, loss of loved ones -- but most importantly, what I heard, was they lost themselves. And they’re working very hard to find who they were, with the acknowledgement that they will never be the same.”
In the end, she asked the judge to sentence the shooter to life without parole.
Court resumes
- 3:07 p.m.
Both sides returned and Judge Rowe called court back into session.
Shooter returns to courtroom
- 3:06 p.m.
The shooter walked back into the courtroom in cuffs and sat down to learn his sentence.
Many remain in courtroom during break
- 2:49 p.m.
Unlike during the previous break, the courtroom has not emptied entirely as everyone waits to learn the shooter’s sentence.
Judge Rowe, the prosecution, and the defense left the room, but many in the gallery remain.
Shooter exits courtroom
- 2:40 p.m.
The shooter was escorted by deputies out of the courtroom in cuffs.
Judge Rowe then officially announced that the court stands in recess.
Judge announces short break
- 2:39 p.m.
Judge Rowe said the court would take a break for about 10-15 minutes.
“When we come back, I will hear from the people, I will hear from the defense,” Rowe said. “At that time, the court will give its ruling.”
End of victim impact statements
- 2:38 p.m.
After 29 people spoke, the prosecution said they have no additional victim impact statements.
Judge Rowe asked the prosecution and defense to approach.
Prosecutor reads statement for minor student
- 2:31 p.m.
A minor student asked assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast to read his statement for him.
The student was a friend of Justin Shilling and a teammate of Tate Myre.
“I feel like all of the community only wants one thing, which would be for this boy to be sentenced to life without parole,” Keast read.
Mother of 2 Oxford students speaks
- 2:20 p.m.
Catherine Waymaster spoke next. She has two children who were students at Oxford High School. She drove her daughter to school that day, and her son had stayed home sick.
She said her daughter wanted to be a teacher, but that plan was affected by the shooting.
“The fear of having a student like the defendant scares her,” Waymaster said. “She thought she knew him. They were in many classes together over the years. She saw no evil brewing in him. She’s afraid she will not see evil brewing in students she might have as a teacher in the future.”
Waymaster said her son was also affected, even though he wasn’t in school that day.
“He thought of the defendant as a friend,” she said. “They played video games together in school when they had free time in class. The defendant would help him with homework in class. My son trusted him. My son trusted you. Now my son trusts no one. He keeps to a very small group of friends. He was not a fan of school before the shooting, and now every day is a struggle to even get him to show up.”
She also read her daughter’s essay, which had a prompt of “something that changed her perspective.”
Oxford student speaks
- 2:18 p.m.
A minor student spoke next, and she was 15 years old at the time of the shooting.
“I was forced to go through and process a tragedy that no one should ever have to go through,” she said. “I never thought this would happen at my school.”
She said she experienced survivor’s guilt and that she never wanted to step foot into Oxford High School afterward, but she didn’t want to let the shooter take that away.
“To the waste of a human that’s sitting in this room with us, love will always win,” she said, “You will be forgotten in a few years, and the four that you selfishly took away from us will live on. Your Honor, I hope because of the terror and disregard for human life, I hope you give him life without parole.”
Student’s uncle makes statement
- 2:14 p.m.
Another student’s uncle read a statement on her behalf. She wrote about the memory of Nov. 30, 2021, and realizing that shots were being fired inside the school.
“This person should have life in prison with no chance of parole because Tate, Hana, Justin, and Madisyn have no chance of going to college, no chance of getting married, no chance of having children, or even simply eating dinner at the table with their families again,” he read.
Sister of Oxford student makes statement
- 2:11 p.m.
The next speaker was the sister of a 17-year-old who is currently a junior at Oxford High School. The student was a freshman the day of the shooting.
She shared some memories with Hana St. Juliana, saying, “I owe her so much for making Oxford feel like home.”
Oxford student speaks
- 2:04 p.m.
A senior at Oxford High School spoke next. She said she wasn’t physically injured during the shooting, but she was in the adjacent bathroom when shots were first fired.
“It is my solemn plea that the possibility of parole be denied, ensuring he never has another opportunity to harm another person,” she said.
Oxford student addresses shooter
- 1:57 p.m.
A minor student spoke next and directly addressed the shooter.
“I wanted to clarify to you one small thing before you go and spend the rest of your pointless waste of a life sitting there with nothing left to rot away to,” he said. “I know that through all of this you desperately wanted to be remembered. Remembered as one of the school shooters. I know you wanted to be loved and cared for from the awful things that you did.
“You have never been loved. You have never been cared for, and you will never be remembered. You may attempt to convince yourself that you have finally gotten your way. That the world, or more importantly, your parents, are finally able to see just how messed up you are. But even to this day, nearly two years later, they don’t.
“Once they found out what was happening that God forsaken day, they did not care about you. They didn’t text you to find out if you were OK. They never called just so they could hear your voice. They never said the words, ‘I love you.’ Once the dust had settled, they didn’t try to find their child, who had supposedly just been through the most traumatic experience of their life. Instead they ran -- they ran as far away from you as they possibly could.
“When even your own two parents who are supposed to love and care for you no matter what don’t love you, you know you are unloved.”
“You are simply a forgotten, teeny tiny puzzle piece someone lost under the couch and never cared enough to find,” he continued. “You will never be remembered. Your microscopic brain may still believe that because you committed the heinous act of unthinkable violence in a public building that remains standing you will be remembered and cared for. You will not.”
He spoke about the shooter again later in his statement.
“No one has, does, or will ever care for you, love you, nor remember you,” he said. “You are an uncared for, unloved, and forgotten devil. Your Honor, I am done speaking to this thing. It chose to go down this path. It chose violence when there were so many better options. It chose to take four innocent young lives. If it is ever let back out into this world, who knows how many will be added to this list.
“If it can’t be trusted once, how can it be trusted twice? If it gets anything less than a life sentence, the world and I will be in a constant state of fear, waiting for it to strike its next prey.”
Oxford student speaks
- 1:50 p.m.
Olivia McMillan, a student who was at Oxford High School at the time of the shooting, spoke after the break.
McMillan said she knew Justin Shilling and they became friends.
“I sent a simple simple text, just asking if he and my other two friends were safe,” she said. “The response we got still makes me sick to my stomach. Justin told us he was in the bathroom with the shooter and the next text we got from him after was, ‘I love you guys.’ Little did I know that would be my last text I would ever get from Justin.”
She said since the shooting, it’s hard for her to trust anyone.
“I believe the defendant should be given the maximum sentence: life without parole,” she said. “I never want to see the defendant, or hear about the defendant, ever again.”
Court resumes
- 1:49 p.m.
The proceedings resumed with more victim impact statements.
Shawn Ley inside courtroom
- 1:21 p.m.
Shawn Ley provided a quick look inside the courtroom during the break. You can watch in the video below.
Court takes break
- 1:04 p.m.
Judge Rowe called for a break. He said court would resume at 1:35 p.m., but the break lasted a bit longer.
The shooter left the courtroom first in cuffs.
Judge Rowe said he plans to finish all the victim impact statements by the end of the day Friday.
Oxford High School student speaks
- 12:54 p.m.
Another student who was at Oxford High School at the time of the shooting spoke about her memories from Nov. 30, 2021.
She talked about learning the news that Justin Shilling had died the morning after the shooting.
“No matter how far I run, no matter where I go, I can never escape the everlasting fear that the 30th has instilled in me,” she said. “I do not get to move on.”
She said death and trauma isn’t something can be scrubbed away, no matter how hard she tries.
“He will never have to go through what he made us go through on the 30th, and for as long as I have to carry on with the weight of his actions, I believe he should, too,” she said.
Hana St. Juliana’s best friend speaks
- 12:47 p.m.
The best friend of Hana St. Juliana spoke next. She is a minor who was a student at the time of the shooting and will not be identified.
She shared the story of receiving the phone call that Hana had been killed and spoke about how
“This thief, you, a murderer, can’t give me back what you stole,” she said. “You stole my best friend. You stole my carefree laughter. You stole my Christmases. You stole my Tuesdays. You stole my New Year’s. You stole my Friday night football games. You stole Hana’s 15th birthday. You stole Hana’s 16th birthday. You have stole one every single one of her birthdays.”
She said the last words she heard from Hana were “I’ll call you later,” but she never got a call.
Oxford student speaks
- 12:40 p.m.
A minor student who was a freshman at the time of the shooting spoke next.
She told the story of what happened during the shooting.
“It felt like slow motion while our teacher was closing the door,” she said. “I was thinking he was going to get into the room. Once the door was closed, I heard a few more shots. I noticed my phone was still on my desk across the room, and all I wanted was to contact my mom. It got me thinking, ‘I’m never going to see my family or parents again.’”
She asked for the maximum punishment for the shooter.
“Your Honor, I am asking you to give this defendant, or should I say monster, life in prison without the possibility of parole, in a maximum security prison, because this monster should never be free again,” she said.
Madeline Johnson addresses shooter
- 12:37 p.m.
Madisyn Baldwin’s best friend, Madeline Johnson, who was also at the school at the time of the shooting, addressed the shooter at the end of her statement.
“I want the person who did this to know that Madisyn would have been your friend,” she said. “I want you to know that she would have treated you with nothing but kindness, had you not killed her. I’m not sure how much emotion you’re capable of feeling, but I hope you regret it, and I hope it eats away at you, and I hope you feel even a fraction of the loneliness that I felt over these last two years.
“But I can’t leave this courtroom today thinking that you won, and I can’t let you think that, either. You turned your pain into hatred, and I turned my pain into love. That right there is one of the many differences between you and I.
“You are never going to know what it’s like to have a friend who would do anything for you. And you will never know what it’s like to be happy.”
She said the shooter will be “completely and totally alone” for the rest of his life.
“There are no punishments in this world that could ever make up for what he took from us,” she told the judge. “Not even a million life sentences could begin to serve justice, but you have the power to sentence one. One life sentence without the possibility of parole. If that is the best closure that we are ever going to get, then that is the only viable option. Any lesser sentence or any possibility of parole would be a slap in the face to everyone who is here today.
“Giving a mass murderer a second chance at life after he took four lives, injured seven people, and traumatized students like myself, it’s unthinkable.”
Madisyn Baldwin’s best friend speaks
- 12:32 p.m.
Madeline Johnson was a senior at Oxford High School at the time of the shooting and was best friends with Madisyn Baldwin.
She showed the design on her shirt, which was something Madisyn drew for her. She told the story of saying goodbye to her best friend as they parted for separate classes.
“As soon as I started walking the other direction, I heard the first round of bullets,” she said. “The pattern of them still plays in my head every single day.”
Madeline told the story of what happened over the next several minutes in the hallway.
“I found out that Madisyn died a few hours later, from a photo on somebody’s Snapchat story,” she said. “I didn’t believe it until multiple other people confirmed it to me.”
Mother of 2 students speaks
- 12:24 p.m.
Marcia Hudson, a mother of two students who were at Oxford High School on the day of the shooting, spoke next. Her daughter graduated in June 2022 and her son is now a junior.
“I believe that the Oxford High School shooter should remain in jail for the remainder of his life and be sentenced to life without the chance of parole,” Hudson said. “The shooter who craves notoriety does not deserve to have his name in my thoughts.”
‘Weak and insecure’
- 12:23 p.m.
A student who was 14 years old at the time of the shooting told the shooter that he is “weak and insecure” while asking him to look at her as she spoke.
Shawn Ley reports from the courtroom that the shooter “nodded in agreement.”
Oxford student addresses shooter
- 12:18 p.m.
A 16-year-old friend of Hana St. Juliana spoke and told the shooter to look at her during her statement. He had previously been looking down at the table during all the statements.
“Today I want you to look at me,” she said. “I have faith that the justice system will do its job and you will never see me in person. So today, I want you to look at me, because it’ll be the only chance you ever get to.”
She said she was 14 years old and a freshman at the time of the shooting.
“I’m strong than you will ever be,” she said. “You do not have any power over me. After today, I will live my life, you will go behind bars, and I will never have to see your face again. You are a waste of space. I’m not sorry to say that. You’re not special. You don’t have a divine right. You’re just an insecure, weak, fragile, insecure boy who could not deal with his own problems. Your name will never be said.”
Crystal Baldwin addresses shooter
- 12:14 p.m.
Crystal Baldwin, the mother of an Oxford freshman at the time of the shooting and aunt of Madisyn Baldwin, asked for a life sentence without parole for the shooter.
“Criminals currently get treated better than the victims,” she said. “The defendant needs to live in a cell for the rest of his natural born life. With each breath he takes, it’s one less that Madisyn gets to. The fact that he is even still here makes my blood boil.
“He took innocent lives, injured innocent people, terrorized students, yet we tablets and education privileges. I get it, we all have rights. What about Madisyn, Tate, Justin, and Hana’s rights? Right to live? Right to be here? I cannot speak on behalf of the other three families, but I know what this whole nightmare did to ours. Our whole world crumbled that day, and we are still attempting to put the pieces together, but they will never be the same.”
Crystal said the shooter executed her niece as if she was a threat to him, but she wasn’t.
Student’s mother, aunt of Madisyn Baldwin, speaks
- 12:07 p.m.
Crystal Baldwin spoke next. She is the mother of a freshman student who was at Oxford High School at the time of the shooting.
Madisyn Baldwin was Crystal’s niece and Goddaughter.
“She was not only my niece, Goddaughter, but felt more like a daughter to me,” she said.
Once her son was finally evacuated from the school, he told her that there had been a body outside the door of the classroom they had been hiding inside. She said there was blood on her son’s shoes.
Crystal Baldwin told the story of the moment police told them that Madisyn had been killed.
“Sadly, as time passes, and the defendant gets the attention and ‘fame’ he so desperately wants, it pulls the attention off these four lives that were taken too soon,” she said.
Oxford High School student speaks
- 12:03 p.m.
Liliana Alvarado, a student who attended Oxford High School at the time of the shooting, spoke next.
“School should be a safe spot to go and get our education, not to run from bullets or develop fear and constant anxiety,” Alvarado said. “So judge, as we move forward, I pray this disgusting, filthy human being gets life without parole.”
Mother of Aiden Watson addresses shooter
- 12:01 p.m.
Linda Watson spoke to the shooter at the end of her statement.
“I really thought about not sharing my statement because of something we heard during the court proceedings, that the shooter said he wanted the parents of those who passed to suffer,” she said. “My kid is alive, and for that we’re grateful, and we have suffered. And for that reason, I am speaking, because I want him to know that he did cause suffering.
“But what will happen next in his life and next in our lives will be the exact opposite. We will move on. He will not. Just because it’s hard and pretty much always feels impossible, we don’t give up because we can’t and we won’t. This isn’t just a part of our life, it is our life now.
“I left off some of the most painful and uncomfortable things because this is all the shooter will get from us, forever and ever. What a bullet and the shooter took from Aiden and our family is hard and impossible to describe completely. Aiden will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. There is no sentence that can take that away or change that, no sentence that can make the shooter understand or feel what our family has felt and still feels.
“My son will have to live with pain, trauma, and limitations because of this forever, so, too, should the shooter have to deal with the consequences of his actions by being incarcerated for the rest of his life. For everything that we have experienced, that was hard and felt impossible, the shooter, this monster, should have to feel everything hard and painful and impossible for the rest of his life.
“The closest thing we can get to that is life in prison. There should never be a possibility of my son coming across the shooter at any point in his life. Aiden doesn’t deserve to have that be another fear he has to live with because of him. Otherwise, there is no justice.”
Shawn: Note on Judge Rowe
- 11:54 a.m.
A report from Shawn Ley inside the courtroom on Judge Rowe:
“His attention to each person sharing their agony is laser-like. He is weighing every word.”
Mother of Aiden Watson speaks
- 11:42 a.m.
Linda Watson, the mother of an Oxford shooting survivor, Aiden Watson, spoke first after the recess.
She talked about receiving a call from her son and learning that there had been a school shooting. She said she was on the phone as he got into a stranger’s car and was rushed away from the school.
Watson told the story of rushing her bleeding son to the hospital, zigzagging through traffic and screaming.
“He had been shot and was bleeding through the wrap under the dashboard, trying to hold his leg up, and he was just trying to make sure I was OK,” she said.
When they got to the hospital, there were other Oxford shooting victims there.
“There were two other kids right next to Aiden from Oxford, one boy sitting in his bed alone, holding his face, bleeding,” Watson said. “Then his mom arrived. I didn’t know her, but I know her now. I would learn all of their names -- those that died and those that were injured. ... We would go through this hell together, yet still feel so alone.”
Court resumes
- 11:41 a.m.
Judge Rowe called court back into session, and the victim impact statements resumed.
Shooter returns to courtroom
- 11:40 a.m.
The shooter returned to the courtroom from the recess.
Court takes short recess
- 11:09 a.m.
Judge Rowe called for a recess. It lasted for about 30 minutes.
Survivor addresses shooter
- 11:07 a.m.
The student who was shot in the leg addressed the shooter at the end of his statement.
“He has basically ruined the rest of my life,” he said. “Even though it’s two years later, I still feel the pain and effects from what he did. Every day I feel them. I believe that the shooter should be locked behind bars forever because of all the things that he did. Someone like him does not deserve to be walking amongst other people in this world.
“He should get life without parole and he should be locked in prison forever. He should never see the light of day again. He is a horrible human being, and the fact that he did what he did, and the fact that he thought what he did on Nov. 30 would be fun, is proof that he is horrible.
“I do not believe that he is crazy. I believe it’s a scheme. I believe he’s trying to lie to us to try to get out of prison early. If it were up to me, it would never happen. He would never be able to touch grass outside of prison.”
Student who was shot in leg speaks
- 10:58 a.m.
The next student to speak was also a minor. He was a freshman at Oxford High School.
The student said he remembered the warning signs in the weeks leading up to the attack.
“Around the end of October, threats started happening at the school,” he said. “I remember the deer head and a picture of a bird in a jar. I remember being on the bus and my friend showed me in a group chat a threat that scared me enough to call my mom and ask to come home.
“I didn’t come home that day. I also didn’t get shot that day. I remember that was the first time I was really scared that something could happen.”
He also talked about Nov. 30, 2021.
“By the time I realized (the shooting was real), I was staring at Tate Myre, and he was shot and he died,” the student said. “I tried to run into my classroom. I didn’t know I’d been shot until my friend told me I was hit. He said that we needed to get out of there.
“Some girl asked me if this was real, and I remember looking down at my leg, seeing the blood, but still not feeling anything.”
Student who got trapped in bathroom speaks
- 10:50 a.m.
The next student who spoke is a minor, so he will not be showed on camera or identified in the article.
He said his school, community, and family have “endured an unimaginable amount of hurt, pain, and trauma.”
“On that day, I was trapped in the bathroom with the perpetrator and Justin Shilling,” he said. “We were stuck, helpless and cornered, with no defense. I was right there when he was shot and killed, yet I couldn’t do anything about it.”
He said it doesn’t feel real that someone could have the capacity to kill others without any remorse or cause.
“It was, and always will be, the most terrifying moment of my life, being cornered with no option but to run out of the bathroom as fast as I could, hoping to live,” he said. “Even after leaving the bathroom, I could see bodies on the floor, blood everywhere, and knew that some of my peers were now gone.”
Riley Franz speaks
- 10:44 a.m.
Riley Franz is a student who was shot during the attack at Oxford High School. She said Nov. 30 has altered every aspect of her life.
“I can no longer sleep without having flashbacks of a bullet entering one side of my neck and exiting the other,” she said.
Franz said she finds it hard to even sit in a classroom because she feels anxious.
“Every day, I choose not to allow what a selfish individual decided to do to break me,” she said. “I, Riley Franz, am a survivor of gun violence. I, Riley Franz, am a survivor of a terrible epidemic caused by a broken system. But I refused to be known as a victim at the hands of an individual with no regard for others.
“His selfishness will not consume my identity. I am so much more than a victim.”
Kylie Ossege speaks
- 10:32 a.m.
Kylie Ossege is a student who was shot during the attack at Oxford High School. She talked about how the shooter took her innocence.
“Before my fifth hour class, me and my dear friend, Riley Franz, were in the hallway socializing with our peers, and all of a sudden, I thought a balloon popped,” she said. “I turned and I fell right to the ground. I remember hearing screams. I saw running. But I couldn’t run. I was already down.”
She said she thought she was going to die. She could hear Hana St. Juliana injured by her side.
Oxford teacher who was shot speaks
- 10:23 a.m.
Molly Darnell, a teacher at Oxford High School who was shot during the attack, spoke after the families of the students who were killed
“It is easier for me to see you as a monster,” Darnell said. “You made an intentional plan to shatter lives. Because I came within your line of sight, you intended to kill me -- someone you didn’t even know.”
She said the shooter has proven that he can’t be trusted to live within a free community.
“The memory of you raising your gun to me and the scar on my arm may exist, but I will continue to live a life full of the human experience, because I am the writer of my own story,” she said. “You may not be glancing my way today, but I know you can hear me. When I consider the collective pain you methodically designed for our school community, I believe you deserve to spend the rest of your life in jail without parole.”
She said the shooter intended to leave her husband a widower and her children motherless.
Father of Hana St. Juliana addresses shooter
- 10:16 a.m.
Steve Juliana, the father of Hana Juliana, began his statement speaking about the shooter’s sentence.
“There is absolutely nothing that the defendant can ever to do earn my forgiveness,” he said. “His age plays no part. His potential is irrelevant. Ultimately, it is only his choices and his actions that matter. Actions that have consequences that can never be undone. There is utterly nothing that he could ever do to contribute to society to make up for the lives that he has so ruthlessly taken.”
Father of Hana St. Juliana speaks
- 10:15 a.m.
Hana St. Juliana’s father, Steve, spoke next.
“The defendant envisioned, researched, planned in detail, and then proceeded to execute his plot to murder and terrorize his fellow students,” he said. “He chose this course of action and carried out these murders simply to make himself feel better.”
He said there can be no forgiveness or rehabilitation for the shooter.
Reina St. Juliana addresses shooter
- 10:13 a.m.
Hana St. Juliana’s sister addressed the shooter after reading a statement from her mother and most of her own statement. She wasn’t talking to him directly.
“I am sorry that I cannot make you feel even a fraction of the world without Hana,” she said. “If I could, the shooter would be dead. The creature who left Hana lying in her own pool of blood, crying in pain, who went to go shoot her again, does not deserve to take another breath.
“His parents would never see the light of day. Oxford district employees would be fully held accountable, and we would all be working on a time machine.”
She finished by saying no justice will ever be enough, but the closest thing would be to give the shooter life without parole.
Statement from sister of Hana St. Juliana
- 10:07 a.m.
Reina St. Juliana then read her own victim impact statement.
“I do not want to live without Hana,” she said. “She brought out the best in all of us, and brought out the best in me.”
Sister of Hana St. Juliana reads mother’s impact statement
- 10:03 a.m.
Reina St. Juliana, the sister of Hana St. Juliana spoke next, first reading a statement on behalf of her mother.
Justin Shilling’s mother addresses shooter
- 10 a.m.
Like the other parents, Jill Soave addressed the shooter at the end of her victim impact statement.
“You may have ended Justin’s life on this planet, but you did not in any way affect his soul,” she said. “You don’t have the power to do that. You may have caused the pain and terror, as you intended to do, but you did not destroy us.
“I don’t focus on hating you, but I also don’t feel a drop of pity toward you. I don’t feel anything toward you. You’re nothing to me. You don’t even exist. While you rot in jail, we will push on, and we will do so many good things in the world, spreading so much love and kindness in honor of our angels.
“You are facing the consequences of your actions here in this court of law, but you will also face your demons in the afterlife, and there’s no escape from that. I pray that you serve as a deterrent and an example for other lost souls who seek fame by taking innocent lives. You didn’t win. You’re not famous. It didn’t turn out as you had hoped. The media will forget about you. They will move on.
“I know you’re miserable, and it’s only going to get worse as the reality sets in. But we are only to get better -- more healed, more loved, and more loving toward others. More peaceful and more full of grace.
“One last thing I do want you to know: If you were that lonely, that miserable, that lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would’ve been your friend, if you had only asked him.”
Justin Shilling’s mother speaks
- 9:55 a.m.
Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, spoke next. She began by asking for a life sentence without parole for the shooter.
“The manner in which my son, Justin, was so coldheartedly, methodically executed shows clearly the pure evil and malice of the shooter,” she said. “For this act alone, Your Honor, he deserves life without parole.”
Justin Shilling’s father addresses shooter
- 9:50 a.m.
Craig Shilling spoke to the shooter at the end of his victim impact statement.
“In my opinion, it takes a deeply disturbed individual to leave the compass of basic human decency,” he said. “The act of taking another human being’s life is not only exasperating, but extremely selfish and unjust.”
He said the shooter should meet the same fate as his son.
“In lieu of execution, I feel strongly that the individual should never be allowed to walk among his peers again,” he said. “That is why I’m going to ask you to lock this son of a b---- up for the rest of his pathetic life. His blatant lack of human decency and disturbing thoughts on life in general do not in any way warrant a second chance. My son doesn’t get a second chance, and neither should he.
“His very name should be condemned, recognized only by his cowardly, vile, and malicious defiance of human law. Now with all that being said, I’d like to direct my comments to this disgusting individual that I speak of.
“He sits across the room from he at this very moment, dressed in orange, emotionless. Although I’m sure he may have a half-baked idea of just what I’d like to do to him, I’m not quite sure he has adequately envisioned the exact nature of this idea.
“I’d really like an opportunity to physically show him how much pain he has caused me and my family. But in a civilized society, governed by complex laws such as ours, this type of display is not permitted. But you can rest assured, you piece of s---, that baby bird’s screams would pale in comparison to the screams that you would exude if I were only able to show you.
“But luckily for you, they won’t let me. So I will hope with every bit of hope I have left, that with every passing thought or memory that you have about what you’ve done, you remember my statement, and take time to imagine that happening, and recognize it in the worst way possible.
“I’ve tried to put myself in your shoes and over and over tried to imagine what could have possibly been so horrible in your life to cause you to commit these crimes. I actually thought long and hard, and can come up with no logical explanation. The fact is that what you did is reprehensible and completely unnecessary.”
He said maybe the shooter will be remembered for the biggest school shooting in Michigan’s history, but he should also be remembered as the biggest coward in history.
“My last words for you before I conclude is I truly hope your new roommates welcome you in properly and show you the kind of treatment you can only get on the inside,” he said. “It’s clearly all you’ve ever wanted, and it is my hope that there is some kind of pain involved.
“I also think, as you rot away, lamenting over your wasted life, you should take time to ponder the fact that though you may have taken four lives, the selfless gesture of organ donations by my son saved at least five lives, thus overshadowing your delusions of grandeur and effectively nullifying all you feel you’ve accomplished.
“Stew on that for awhile, and maybe you’ll realize that as long as there are good people in the world, willing to selflessly give themselves to others, evil will never triumph.”
Father of Justin Shilling speaks
- 9:42 a.m.
Craig Shilling, the father of Justin Shilling, began by expressing how difficult it was for him to write his statement.
“For awhile thereafter, I struggled with dark thoughts and found myself completely lost in a seemingly endless see of raging emotions, with no care as to what happened to me,” he said. “Grief had consumed me and has squeezed out every bit of joy and happiness in my life.”
Tate Myre’s brother asked for maximum penalty
- 9:40 a.m.
Trent Myre asked the judge to give the shooter the maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.
“I am asking that the shooter gets the maximum penalty,” he said. “This coward took actions knowing the consequences and effects it would have on people and this community. He did not care. He took the selfish action of taking four lives away. He took four kids’ opportunities to grow into incredible young men and women, and he should never have the opportunity to see the light.
“He waived his right and opportunity when he took the lives away of those four beautiful souls. I pray that justice will be served. I believe that the right ruling will be made, one that reflects the magnitude of pain and loss caused by his actions. I pray that through this my family, our community, and the other three families can find a measure of healing and closure.
“I know that love and community will prevail against evil. So while you sit there rotting and suffering for the rest of your life, we will learn to find joy, happiness, and normalcy, and let Tate’s legacy live on forever.”
Tate Myre’s brother speaks
- 9:38 a.m.
Trent Myre, Tate’s oldest brother, spoke after his father. He did so wearing a shirt showing his brother in a football uniform.
“Nobody gets what we have gone through, and I hope to God no one does,” Trent Myre said. “I see someone that looks shady in public, I think of the 30th. I have someone behind me, I go in a public area -- almost everything is a trigger to what happened to my brother, and it makes me think of him.”
Tate Myre’s father addresses shooter
- 9:32 a.m.
“As we fight and claw our way through this journey, we are realizing we are completely miserable and there does not appear to be a way out, so to this day, you are winning,” he said. “But today is a day where the tides change. Today, we’re going to take ours back.
“We’re all cried out. We’re all tired out. We need to take this chip off our shoulder. We’ve been on this island far too long. We are the prisoner, not you. Nobody else can set us free but us.
“In life, sometimes what you need is exactly what you fear. We fear forgiveness for your selfish acts, so today, how hard it is, we need to find a way to start working our way to forgiveness. Forgiveness to you, forgiveness to your parents, forgiveness to the school.
“What other options do we have? Be miserable for the rest of our lives and rob our family of normalcy? Be miserable and rob Trent and Ty of a normal life filled with friends, their future wife, and kids? Be miserable and rob Sherrie and I a happy life that we worked very hard for and earned?
“Believe me, we will never forget about you, ever. We want you to spend the rest of your life rotting in your cell. What you stole from us is not replaceable. But what we won’t let you steal from us is a life of normalcy, and we’ll find a way to get there through forgiveness and putting good in this world.”
Buck Myre said his son went to the same elementary school as the shooter.
Tate Myre’s father speaks
- 9:24 a.m.
Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, was the next to take the stand.
He talked about how he and his wife found out that their son had been killed.
Madisyn Baldwin’s mother addresses shooter
- 9:17 a.m.
At the end of her victim impact statement, Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin, addressed the shooter.
“To the waste that took my daughter’s life, that name will never come out of my mouth,” Beausoleil said. “That life, will cease to exist to me, and just like trash, it will be forgotten. So while the attention that he has been seeking for this horrendous crime, you will get no reaction from me.
“But again, this is the life he chose. If he really wanted to make a different outcome, he wouldn’t continue to make the excuses he does now. The suffering will come when he least expects it. The regret will consume you as you sit alone with only voices in your head. Guilt will eat away at your soul.
“This might not happen tomorrow, next year, or in 10 years, but it will happen. As you get older, you will realize the path you’ve chosen, and it will haunt you, just like the idol that you admired so much. Both of you, forgotten in the system.
“When these emotions flood into your body, like you’re bleeding out, no one will be there to save you. No one will forgive you. Your hand will no longer be held as you claim insanity. Your outburst for attention will go unnoticed. No one will love you and no one will come.
“As I don’t wish death upon you -- that would be too easy -- I hope the thoughts consume you, and they replay over and over in your head. ‘The thoughts won’t stop.’ I’m sure you’ve heard that paraphrased before. I hope the screams keep you up at night and they cause real hallucinations. You won’t be able to write it on paper for the attention that you so badly seek.
“Those four walls become your home, suffocating in guilt. It will come, I promise you. I’m happy you decided not to be a coward that day and take your own life. I’d much rather you stick around to see the life you have chosen, what suffering really feels like, and that your significance is not above anyone else.
“I truly feel sorry for you that you thought this would be a better life choice.
“So, Your Honor, I have chosen forgiveness. We live in a world where forgiveness is not deserved, but needed. Forgiveness: A word that hold so much controversy. What does it really mean? To me, forgiveness is an encouragement. It’s encouraged me to forgive the things that are out of my control. I have chosen to forgive for myself. To some, that might seem weak or giving in. It’s my new journey with Madisyn, because honestly, that is who she was and what she would have done.
“I no longer carry that burden. It does not define me, it does not define her, or it does not define our family.”
Later, she continued to address the shooter.
“You failed. I’m so much stronger than you, and your weakness consumes you,” she said. “I don’t choose to forgive the destructive nature that caused her death. Forgiving is a choice -- I choose not to forgive you for the choice you made. This is exactly what you wanted. This is not a life that I would ever want to live. What this has done has ignited the light that I thought I lost: Madisyn’s light.
“Your Honor, I hope you stamp his fate with whatever fate that might be. To continue to live the life sentence that he researched. That his life sentence is the as my same life sentence I received, as a life sentence that I cannot escape from.
“Day by day passes, I hope his life feels more meaningless, lost, and forgotten. So when my time comes -- and I will never worry if our paths or fates will ever meet again -- but when our true day of judgement comes, my justice will be served. That his life sentence will continue so that he may live in his own personal prison for eternity, with no one waiting for him.
“I can only wish him the best on his new life and repercussions that follow.”
Mother of Madisyn Baldwin speaks
- 9:08 a.m.
Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin, was the first person to take the stand and deliver a victim impact statement.
“Nov. 30, 2021, is a day that has forever changed my life,” Beausoleil said. “It burns into my body like a cigarette burn. Enough to scar, but always a constant reminder: The day I found out that my daughter’s life was taken. A life that was so young and full of life. After that day, she became a statistic, a victim, a planned act of tragedy.”
Beausoleil talked about the moment she found out her daughter had been killed. Then, she addressed Judge Rowe and prosecutors, thanking them for their handling of the case.
Court called into session
- 9:05 a.m.
Judge Kwamé Rowe arrived, and court was called into session.
Shooter arrives at courtroom
- 9:04 a.m.
The shooter was brought into the courtroom, accompanied by officers. He’s wearing an Oakland County Jail jumpsuit and had his hands shackled to a chain around his waist.
His hands were freed when he reached the front of the courtroom.
Gallery arrives early
- 8:52 a.m.
Local 4′s Shawn Ley is in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing, and he reports almost everyone who joined the gallery was already seated by 8:52 a.m.
Shawn estimates 45-50 people are present -- Oxford families, Oxford High School students, and parents of students who were killed.
Courtroom live stream
- 8:51 a.m.
Our live stream from the courtroom in Oakland County has begun. You can see a live picture by clicking here. Proceedings are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.