PONTIAC, Mich. — Ethan Crumbley, the teenager who admitted guilt to a deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School, was in court Thursday for a unique hearing.
Thursday was an early step in the process of Crumbley's sentencing, after he pleaded guilty to 24 charges.
The hearing, known as a Miller hearing, is to decide whether or not Crumbley, as a minor, can face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Crumbley entered an Oakland County Circuit Court on Thursday in shackles, along with prosecutors and defense attorneys with mountains of evidence.
A central point of the hearing was what Crumbley wrote in his 22-page journal.
According to the evidence, Crumbley details in his journal how he tortured and killed five baby birds, and wanted to torture people, even small children.
Crumbley's attorney pointed out, in portions of the journal, he discusses hallucinating and having a rough home life. The defense claims the warning signs Crumbley's teachers noticed went unanswered, saying expert witnesses for the defense will explain Ethan's actions, without excusing them.
“There’s a common misconception by the public that mass shooters are evil monsters, who simply snap and commit a shooting one day,” Ethan's defense said.
Prosecutors pointed out the numerous pages of the journal where Ethan wrote his intentions to commit the largest school shooting in Michigan history, and become well-known because of it.
“When I shoot up the school, I hope that every parent of kids I gratefully murder will be so sad that they kill themselves. I want all of America to see the darkness in me,” Crumbley wrote.
Lieutenant Timothy Willis with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office testified Crumbley searched on his phone in the weeks leading up to the shooting questions about how he could be sentenced.
Willis: “He Google searched 'what is the worst prison sentence you can get in Michigan?'"
Prosecutor: "What about item nine?"
Willis: He wrote, “What is a life sentence for a fifteen-year-old?”
Members of the media were asked to turn their cameras away for portions of the hearing on Thursday, because of the graphic nature of the evidence.
“The facts of this case are difficult, they’re unpleasant, unnecessary— the images you will be shown are ever likely to forget,” Ethan's defense attorney said.
The hearing is designed to decide whether or not Crumbley will face life behind bars without the possibility of parole, because he is a minor.
The hearing is expected to continue Friday, and FOX 17 will livestream the continuation of it.
