The teenager who pleaded guilty to killing three Ohio students was sentenced last week to three life sentences in prison.
T.J. Lane, 18, admitted to a shooting at Chardon High School near Cleveland in February 2012 that also wounded other students. He told investigators he didn’t know why he did it.
Before the case went to adult court last year, a juvenile-court judge ruled that Mr. Lane was mentally competent to stand trial despite evidence that he suffers from hallucinations, psychosis, and fantasies.
During the sentencing, Mr. Lane was defiant, smiling and smirking, including while victims’ relatives spoke. After he came in, he calmly unbuttoned his blue dress shirt to reveal a T-shirt reading “killer,” which the prosecutor noted was similar to one he wore during the shooting.
He wasn’t eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the shootings. The judge gave Mr. Lane sentences totaling 37 additional years for attempted murder, felonious assault, and using a weapon in the crimes.
