A jury spared Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz from the death penalty Thursday for killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, sending him to prison for the remainder of his life.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A jury spared Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz from the death penalty Thursday for killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, sending him to prison for the remainder of his life in a decision that left many families of the victims angered, baffled and in tears.
Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will formally issue the life sentences Nov. 1. Relatives, along with the students and teachers Cruz wounded, will be given the opportunity to speak at the sentencing hearing. “Our justice system should have been used to punish this shooter to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis agreed with the families, saying it “stings” that Cruz will not receive the death penalty. Lead prosecutor Mike Satz kept his case simple for the seven-man, five-woman jury. He focused on Cruz’s eight months of planning, the seven minutes he stalked the halls of a three-story classroom building, firing 140 shots with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, and his escape.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
A jury recommends life in prison for Parkland shooter Nikolas CruzFourteen students and three staff members were killed in the rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day in 2018. Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder.
Read more »
Photos of Nikolas Cruz, Parkland school shooter, over the yearsJury recommended life in prison, not death, in Nikolas Cruz trial. He pleaded guilty in 2021 to killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in 2018
Read more »
Victims' families, politicians condemn life sentence verdict by Nikolas Cruz juryThe jury recommend life in prison for Nikolas Cruz, who pleaded guilty to killing 17 in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Read more »
Jury Rejects Death Sentence, Rules Life In Prison for Nikolas CruzMore than four-and-a-half years after 17 people were killed and 17 others were wounded in the Parkland school shooting, a jury has determined that the man responsible should spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Read more »
A jury recommends life in prison for Parkland shooter Nikolas CruzFourteen students and three staff members were killed in the rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day in 2018. Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder.
Read more »
Nikolas Cruz penalty trial verdict: Jury recommends life in prison without paroleBREAKING NEWS: A Florida jury rejected the death penalty for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, recommending life in prison without parole in the attack that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
Read more »