(WWJ) Convicted Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley is hoping to appeal his conviction, by withdrawing his guilty plea.
Crumbley's new lawyers claim to have found new evidence that they hope will support an appeal: including Crumbley's mother's alleged alcohol abuse during pregnancy.
Appellate lawyers for the young mass shooter, now 18 years old, claim that Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder could have played a role in Crumbley's development and emotional maturity.
Lawyers also claim that Crumbley didn't understand the guilty plea when he entered it.
They're hoping a new trial can explore the new evidence, and review the plea process.
A release Friday by the State Appellate Defender's Office reads, in part:
"When the State Appellate Defender Office began representing Ethan, we uncovered new and compelling evidence that does not support a life without parole sentence. A motion was filed today requesting the trial court to review that evidence and to grant a resentencing where that evidence can be explored in more depth and properly considered. Some of that new evidence includes seven witnesses who could have discussed Ethan’s childhood struggles and his mother’s alcohol abuse during pregnancy; the potential impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder on Ethan’s life including the social and emotional maturity of a child younger than their chronological age; and an expert witness to properly present information about Ethan and his childhood rather than one who cut and pasted information from other reports and did not understand the indicia for evaluating a life without parole sentence for a child.
"This new evidence also sheds light on whether Ethan properly
understood his plea when entered, and he is asking the court to review the plea process. Due process requires that every person who pleads must understand what they are doing, this is even more true when the person pleading is a child."
The appellate lawyers say statistics show kids who commit crimes have the lowest recidivism rate of just about any population, asserting that a life without parole sentence for a child is "unconscionable."
There was no immediate news on a response from prosecutors or the court, and a date for a hearing on this motion has not yet been set.
Crumbley pleaded guilty in 2023 to first degree murder, terrorism and other charges for the November, 2021, shooting at Oxford Township's Oxford High School that left four students dead and six more students and a teacher wounded.
The teen was sentenced to life in prison, without a chance for parole, and is currently serving his sentence in the protective housing unit at Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee.
Separately, Crumbley's parents were both convicted of involuntary manslaughter, after prosecutors argued that the couple ignored their son's mental health struggles, and instead bought him a 9mm handgun.