Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com / AP


A teenager has been sentenced to life in prison for killing four students, wounding others, and terrorizing Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021.

A judge on Friday rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that 17-year-old Ethan Crumbley will not get an opportunity for parole.

Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to 24 charges including first-degree murder and terrorism.

Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the state’s highest court said the violent acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults.

Judge Kwame Rowe’s decision Friday followed anguished remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who spoke about how the tragedy has affected them. More than 20 people gave victim-impact statements.

Livingston County Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin released the following statement:

“Today’s sentencing hearing is a critical milestone in the path to recovery for Oxford and for our state. It’s been two devastating years since the shooting, and a fraction of those most impacted will be giving statements about what the violence has done to their lives – I urge people to listen. It takes incredible fortitude for survivors to stand up in court and speak directly to the person who changed their lives forever, and I’m thinking about them today. Communities are never truly the same after a mass shooting. Please keep the entire Oxford community in your thoughts today.”