OXFORD, Mich. – The Oxford High School shooter spoke in court Friday after listening to 29 victim impact statements and right before learning his sentence from a judge.
Friends and family members of the four students who were killed on Nov. 30, 2021 -- Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling -- flooded the courtroom during the sentencing hearing to share their pain and ask Judge Kwamé Rowe to give the shooter a life sentencing without the chance of parole.
Several parents and Oxford High School students also spoke, some of them survivors who were struck by gunfire. The teacher who was shot also made a statement.
Click here to read our full breakdown of every statement, including several videos and links to longer breakout articles.
For most of the day, the shooter looked down at the table, but at the end, he was allowed to make a statement in the courtroom.
Here’s what he said:
“I would like to thank you for letting me speak, Your Honor. 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 on 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 could show that I will change, because 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 somewhat 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.”