CNN —
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Crumbley is set to appear in court Thursday, where a judge will consider whether he should spend the rest of his life in prison for killing four students and wounding seven others at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021.
Crumbley pleaded guilty in October to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder and 19 other charges stemming from the mass shooting he carried out at his high school when he was 15 years old.
As an adult, Crumbley would be sentenced to life in prison without parole, the harshest punishment under Michigan law. Because he’s a minor, the court needs to hold a hearing to consider whether he should have a chance for eventual release.
The so-called Miller hearing is named after a US Supreme Court case, Miller v. Alabama, which struck down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for minors. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
Prosecutors will argue that Crumbley deserves a life sentence without parole. Crumbley’s lawyers will present mitigating factors, including his age, home life and the possibility that he can be rehabilitated, to argue that life without parole is disproportionate.
Last week, Crumbley’s lawyers asked the judge to take the possibility of life without parole off the table before the Miller hearing. Judge Kwame Rowe denied the request, along with their requests to limit witnesses and allow Crumbley to wear street clothes during the hearing.
CNN’s Lauren del Valle, Jean Casarez and Julian Cummings contributed to this report.