Convicted school shooter Ethan Crumbley had to listen to hours of harrowing accounts from the parents of the four children he killed and other victims in a Michigan courtroom on Friday.
Survivors of his December 2021 shooting at Oxford High School near Detroit described how they struggled with the aftermath of the tragedy, as a judge considered whether the armed teen should spend the rest of his life in prison.
Emotions ran high at the sentencing hearing in Pontiac, Michigan, and many speakers lashed out at Crumbley (15 at the time of the shooting and now 17) demanding the harshest punishment allowed by law for him.
“We wear the pain like a heavy coat,” said Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, one of the students killed by Crumbley in November 2021. “Every hour is the darkest moment of the day.”
Turning to Crumbley, the grieving father said to his son’s murderer: “Well, we are miserable. Our family has a permanent hole that can never be fixed, ever. And there seems to be no way out. So to this day you are winning.”
Myre described the last two years as a journey through “complete hell” for him and his family.
Ethan Crumbley, who pleaded guilty to all 24 charges, could be jailed without the possibility of parole. AP
Myre added that his family wants Crumbley to spend the rest of his days “rotting in a jail cell.”
“Your statements do not fall on deaf ears,” Judge Kwame Rowe assured the surviving victims and their loved ones who came forward to publicly express their anguish and demand justice.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Crumbley to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but because of his age, he could be given a shorter sentence, at least 25 to 40 years, which would eventually make him eligible for release. . .
Nicole Beausoleil recalled the devastating moment she saw the body of her daughter, Madisyn Baldwin, in the medical examiner’s office, her hand with blue-painted nails peeking out from under a sheet.
“I looked through the glass. My scream should have shattered him,” Beausoleil said.
Jill Soave, Justin Shilling’s mother, told the shooter that he executed a boy who could have been a good friend to him in his time of need.
Buck Myre, Tate Myre’s father, said he has worn his grief “like a heavy coat.” AP
“If you were so alone, so miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend. “Justin would have been your friend, if you had only asked,” Soave said.
“You may have caused the pain and terror as you intended, but you did not destroy us,” the mother said to Crumbley, who sat with his head bowed.
Justin’s father, Craig Shilling, shared with the court that he is still waiting for his son to return home to work.
“There are no words to accurately describe the pain we feel every day. I have post-traumatic stress disorder and most days I have a hard time even getting out of bed,” Shilling said, before asking the judge to give the teenage mass shooter the harshest sentence possible.
Crumbley looked down as relatives of the victims and survivors spoke in court. AP
“His blatant lack of human decency and his disturbing thoughts on life in general do not in any way justify a second chance. My son doesn’t get a second chance and he shouldn’t get one either,” Shilling said.
Shooting survivor Keegan Gregory, who was with Shilling in his final moments, said being trapped in a bathroom with the gunman and his dying schoolmate “was, and always will be, the scariest moment of my life.”
“We were trapped, helpless and cornered without defense. I was there when [Shilling] I was shot dead, but I couldn’t do anything about it,” Gregory said.
The teenager said he managed to get out of the bathroom alive and saw bodies lying on the floor and “blood everywhere.”
Steve St. Juliana told the court there was nothing Crumbley could do to earn forgiveness for killing his 14-year-old daughter Hana.
Kylie Ossege, 19, described how she had urged Hana St. Juliana “a thousand times” to keep breathing after she was shot. AP
“His age has no influence,” argued Santa Juliana. “Her potential is irrelevant. There is absolutely nothing she can do to contribute to society and make up for the lives she has mercilessly taken.”
Hana’s older sister, Reina St. Juliana, spoke excitedly about all the things she hoped to do with her when they grew up, like going thrift shopping together, and walking and talking at each other’s weddings.
“Instead of speaking at his wedding, I spoke at his funeral,” he said. “Instead of making her a ponytail to play with, I made her a curling iron in a coffin.”
Hana’s schoolmate, Kylie Ossege, 19, described in harrowing detail how she had urged the mortally wounded girl “a thousand times” to keep breathing as they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet.
Ossege, now a college student, was shot and continues to battle daily pain from spinal injuries.
Ethan Crumbley will hear from victims’ families and survivors of the mass shooting before a judge decides whether to give him a life sentence. AP
“Being able to put one leg over my horse is my therapy. It’s pure joy,” she said. “I haven’t been able to do it for two years.”
Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting on Nov. 30, 2021, pleaded guilty in October to all 24 charges against him, including first-degree murder and terrorism.
He looked away when his loved ones spoke Friday. She will have a chance to address the judge and possibly explain why he believes she should be spared a life sentence for executing four students and wounding seven other people.
Defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin has argued that Crumbley deserves a chance at parole after his “sick brain” is fixed through counseling and rehabilitation.
But after hearing expert testimony, Rowe said in September that he had found only a “tiny” chance that Crumbley could be rehabilitated in prison.
Crumbley and his parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, met with school staff the day of the shooting after a teacher found some of his violent drawings, including a gun pointed at the words: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”
But no one searched Crumbley’s backpack for a gun and he was allowed to stay at school after his parents resisted taking him home.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are awaiting trial on manslaughter charges, accused of making a gun available to their son at home and neglecting his mental health.
With postal cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn