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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEthan Crumbley, who was 15 when he killed 4 Michigan students, could spend the rest of his life behi
Ethan Crumbley, the teen gunman who killed four students at Oxford High School, is eligible for life imprisonment without parole the harshest possible punishment in Michigan, a judge ruled Friday.
Crumbley, now 17, was 15 when he opened fire at the school on November 30, 2021. He has pleaded guilty to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder and 19 other charges related to the deadly rampage.
In addition to the four students killed, seven people were shot and wounded including a teacher.
On Friday, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwamé Rowe said Crumbley is eligible for life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Regarding life sentences and particularly considering minors-
35 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited | |
Minors should be eligible for life without parole | |
6 (17%) |
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Minors should be eligible for life without parole, but only in the most heinous cases | |
19 (54%) |
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Minor should always eligible for parole with a life sentence | |
9 (26%) |
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Minors should not receive life sentence regardless of parole | |
0 (0%) |
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No one should get life without parole. People change and should be eligible for release if earned. | |
1 (3%) |
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We should not sentence anyone to life, every sentence should have a finite maximum | |
0 (0%) |
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0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided. | |
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mahatmakanejeeves
(57,755 posts)I am not familiar with the case.
Thanks, and good afternoon.
sarisataka
(18,924 posts)Where the parents, knowing he was a troubled child, bought him a pistol as a "Christmas present".
They also ran off for several days when charges were filed against them rather than turn themselves in.
The shooter originally claimed insanity but a few months later withdrew that and plead guilty.
sinkingfeeling
(51,497 posts)XanaDUer2
(10,848 posts)Elessar Zappa
(14,149 posts)People, especially young ones, can and do change. But when considering parole, it needs to be looked at very carefully with psych evaluations, good behavior in prison, etc.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,522 posts)Mosby
(16,417 posts)John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos all deserved parole?
Is this your position?
sarisataka
(18,924 posts)As models of rehabilitation.
In Norway the perpetrator of the 2011 massacre received the maximum sentence of 21 years. If at the end of the sentence he is determined to be a threat to the public detention may be extended 5 years. He may appeal for parole every year. The 5 year extensions can theoretically be for life.
I find it interesting how the worst criminals are treated and how sometimes the worst is wished on lesser offenders.
Response to sarisataka (Reply #9)
Mariana This message was self-deleted by its author.
NowISeetheLight
(3,943 posts)How they do civil commitment for sex crimes. Serve the sentence then get locked up for "treatment" forever.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,522 posts)sarisataka
(18,924 posts)Just for you, my friend.
We have agreed to disagree but I would ask, how would you recommend we handle cases like spree killers and mass murderers?
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,522 posts)derailing. I appreciate the thought!
There's no easy answer to this -- which, I get it, is often used as a gotcha against abolitionists. But usually when people ask me this, my response is, "What are we doing with them now?" Specifically to this question, regarding spree killers and mass murderers, what we're doing is ignoring them until they kill enough people that we can't ignore them anymore, otherwise there wouldn't be a spree or a mass. What if we didn't ignore them? What if the resources that went into police and incarceration instead went into education and family support, so Ethan Crumbley and his family got the help they *clearly* need when he was a toddler? We know what prevents crime, but we refuse to fund it.
There are certainly serial killers who didn't have a wretched childhood, undiagnosed mental illness or ignored head trauma. They are very rare. People are comforted by the idea that there is a place with a lock on the door where they can hide people they think deserve to be hidden. In that case, for those very rare examples, perhaps a system could be designed that cannot be used against the powerless for political or social or cultural caprice, that has no roots in the current system, that is not torture, and that has a clear outcome that we all agree on. In our current society, I'm not sure that's possible.
sarisataka
(18,924 posts)Setting aside emotions and looking at it academically.
The child exhibited virtually every red flag in the book of having a major personality disorder. He appears to even have recognized it himself and tried reaching out to his parents for help.
(In some ways I would hold them more accountable than him)
I can't say why they ignored the signs and pleas. Lack of resources? Wanting to avoid stigma or shame of mental illness? Didn't give a shit about their kid? All possible.
As always we share the common ground that money spent on pre-cime intervention is more beneficial than that spent on post-crime punishment.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,522 posts)I always appreciate your willingness to consider my responses seriously.
hlthe2b
(102,550 posts)"issues."
sarisataka
(18,924 posts)The parents are facing manslaughter charges
Buckeyeblue
(5,505 posts)I think his parents should get life without parole and he should be sent to some sort of mental facility to get the help he needs and maybe one day be able to live on his own.