(CNN) -- Ohio school shooter T.J. Lane should spend the rest of his life in prison in the deaths of three students last year, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Wearing a white T-shirt
with the word "killer" written on it, Lane declined to allow his
attorneys to present evidence on his behalf at the sentencing hearing
before Geauga County Common Pleas Judge David L. Fuhry.
Lane pleaded guilty last month to three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and weapons-related charges in the February 27, 2012, shooting at Chardon High School in northeastern Ohio.
Prosecutors agreed to drop the possibility of the death penalty in exchange for his guilty plea.
He was known by many
around Chardon High, 30 miles east of Cleveland. But at the time of the
shooting, he was there to be transported to Lake Academy Alternative
School in nearby Willoughby.
Lake Academy describes
itself as a school for "at-risk" students who are "reluctant learners"
struggling with problems such as substance abuse and mental health
issues.
After the shooting, an
assistant football coach chased Lane out of Chardon High, and police
arrested him nearby a short time later.
It was too late for Daniel Parmertor, 16, who died in the shooting.
Demetrius Hewlin, also 16, died a day later from his wounds.
And Russell King Jr., 17, who was initially declared brain dead, passed away soon after.
T.J. Lane pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder and two counts of attempted aggravated murder.
