(CBS DETROIT) – The attorney for the Oxford High School shooter is demanding a review of the gunman’s life sentence, arguing that evidence shows whether he understood his guilty plea.
In a statement Friday, the Michigan Appellate Defender Office, which is representing the shooter, said a motion has been filed asking the court to review new evidence and grant a new conviction.
The public defender’s office argued that the punishment “is unconscionable for a child.”
The office said in part:
“Some of that new evidence includes seven witnesses who could have discussed Ethan’s childhood problems 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 who correctly presents information about Ethan and his childhood, rather than someone who cuts and pastes information from other reports and fails to understand the clues for evaluating life without parole for a child.
The gunman, who was 15 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including murder and terrorism, in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that left four people dead and seven others injured.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
