Courtrooms are usually silent when justice is delivered, but the sentencing of Ohio school shooter T.J. Lane was different. The whole room was quiet because the criminal had now done something so horrific that no one knew where to look.
By the time of Lane’s sentencing, it had been more than a year since the 2012 Chardon High School massacre in Ohio. The 18-year-old walked into a Geauga County courtroom and gave a creepy performance that left victims’ families dumbfounded.
After taking his seat, Lane unbuttoned his blue button-down shirt to reveal a T-shirt with “KILLER” scribbled across the chest. The message referenced the clothing he wore during the February 27, 2012, attack in the Ohio school cafeteria. Daniel Parmertor, Demetrius Hewlin, and Russell King Jr. were killed, and three others were wounded.
When he addressed the court, Lane didn’t even listen to his own lawyer.
He directed a string of profanity-filled statements at the families of the teens he murdered. He then made an obscene hand gesture and laughed. A prosecutor described Lane’s behavior as confirmation that the murders were premeditated.
In 2022, Ohio legalized permit-free carry of guns across the entire state.
Gun violence in 6 out of the 8 largest Ohio cities dropped significantly after the law:
Columbus: -12%
Cleveland: -6%
Toledo: -18%
Akron: -18%
Parma: -22%
Canton: -5%
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 17, 2024
As family members took turns describing their pain, Lane even smirked. Daniel Parmertor’s mother spoke of crying every day and said she didn’t feel like the same parent to her other children. Lane laughed. Russell King Jr.’s sister told the court that before the shooting, Russell wanted to reconnect with Lane, but the shooter smirked again.
Nick Walczak survived, though he was shot multiple times and paralyzed. He sat in the courtroom as well.
Judge David Fuhry said Lane seemed motivated by a desire to “make a big splash” and land on the front page. In that context, his shirt made sense. The judge also weighed claims about Lane’s mental state and concluded he knew what he was doing was wrong.
He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus additional years for attempted murder and firearm charges. The only reason the death penalty was not an option was that Lane was 17 at the time of the shooting.
Lane chuckled as the sentence was read.
Number of shootings at schools within the United States:
2000: 31
2001: 26
2002: 19
2003: 34
2004: 35
2005: 52
2006: 59
2007: 46
2008: 37
2009: 32
2010: 15
2011: 16
2012: 20
2013: 34
2014: 47
2015: 41
2016: 50
2017: 60
2018: 119
2019: 124
2020: 116
2021: 257
2022: 308
2023: 352…
— World of Statistics (@stats_feed) January 6, 2026
The Ohio families, however, made it clear that their lost children will be remembered for the lives they touched.
But how much attention should someone like this be allowed to command?
NEXT UP: Ohio Dentist And Wife Found Shot Inside Home With Two Crying Children
