COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The prosecutor is opposing a convicted school shooter’s request for the Ohio Supreme Court to hear an appeal in his case.
Ely Serna was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison for the 2017 shooting that critically wounded another teen at West Liberty-Salem High School. A state appeals court concluded the judge acted properly in his sentencing, and lawyers for Serna last month asked the state’s high court to consider the matter.
They argue that his age at the time of the shooting — 17 — should have been taken into account in his sentencing for charges that included attempted murder. They also contend the judge erred in researching a prescription drug that Serna had used.
In a court filing last week, prosecutors in Champaign County argued that Serna’s lawyers are making the same arguments already rejected by the appeals court and that the Ohio Supreme Court doesn’t need to get involved in the case.