Nikolas Cruz

Cruz went on a shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 and murdered 17 people, including Lori Alhadeff's daughter Alyssa, ...

Nikolas Cruz, who will soon learn if he'll receive a death sentence or be sent to prison for life, is seen on security footage inside the school in 2018 when he carried out his rampage. Nine other people in the US who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately after their attacks by suicide or police gunfire. Families and friends of the victims were visibly emotional as they reacted to the verdict. Lead prosecutor Mike Satz kept his case simple for the seven-man, five-woman jury. Cruz killed 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 Pictured: Daughter Alyssa, who was killed in the shooting in 2018 Teachers and students testified about watching others die. I'm disgusted with the system.' The decision left parents devastated. Some parents sobbed as they left court. Lori and her family set up an organization after Alyssa's death. Lori, who was outraged by the decision, said that she hopes one of his fellow inmates will 'take care of him.' And she expressed her sadness that she has to visit her daughter's grave while Cruz, pictured in court on October 11, lives on in prison with access to a television and amenities

On February 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Irrespective of the feelings of the masses…justice is supposed to be blind…and it was today…and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s as if they expected the judge to let them rip Cruz limb from limb in front of the courthouse. These people should be commended for their service not condemned for their conclusion. Here are some quotes from the reactions expressed by victim’s families about Cruz not getting the death penalty… The jurors took into account all the mitigating circumstances that Cruz experienced before he committed the crime…and punished him as they saw fit. Vengeance is not the same thing as justice.

Photos: Jury recommends life sentence for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown at the ...

Anne Ramsay, whose 17-year-old daughter was among victims of killer Nikolas Cruz, does not believe justice was done.

“There are 17 victims that did not receive justice today,” he said. And today we let someone off who murdered someone murdered 17 people in cold blood.” [Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) There is no rehabbing [Cruz]. ... Jail is about rehabbing someone. “And he planned it meticulously.” And you will just get off by pleading you’re insane. Get a semi-automatic weapon. “The wrong verdict was given out today.” Get an AR-15. “Fourteen beautiful children ... “Seventeen people died,” she continued.

In opening statements of Nikolas Cruz's death penalty trial, his defense laid out their plan to persuade the jury to spare his life.

The defense argued that a sentence of life in prison without parole is sufficient to protect the public. “And I understood that if this is something that I felt that I believe that it needed to apply in my personal case and beyond,” he said. “I had to look deep into my values and say, is this something that connects with it? “I have never, ever, in my life seen an individual who has been affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol in which there is documentation, and I think pretty darn good documentation of alcohol exposure,” testified Dr. “Because Nikolas was bombarded by all of those things, he was poisoned in the womb. This means people completely opposed to the death penalty cannot serve. From an early age, Cruz had developmental delays and emotional and behavioral issues connected to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the defense argued. “There was one with a hard ‘no,’ she couldn’t do it, and there was another two that ended up voting the same way,” he said. “In telling you Nik’s story, in telling you the chapters of his life, we will give you reasons for life,” public defender Melisa McNeill said in opening statements. The decision to plead guilty came without any deal from the government of a lighter sentence. The defense’s first two witnesses testified that Brenda Woodard, Cruz’s birth mother, used drugs and drank alcohol while pregnant. “And that person is Nikolas Cruz.

A jury has recommended that the shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., be sentenced to life in prison ...

Cruz’s rampage is the deadliest mass shooting to go to trial in the U.S., according to The Associated Press. Late that day, the jury asked to see the murder weapon. Prosecutors had pushed for the death sentence. Still awaiting trial is the suspect in the 2019 shooting of 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. You set a precedent for the next mass killing, that nothing happens to you. Following the jury’s recommendation, prosecutors requested that those who were victims of Cruz be allowed to present testimony about the crime and what they see as the appropriate sentence. “That you can allow 17 dead and 17 others shot and wounded and not give the death penalty. The jury unanimously found that there had been aggravating factors in the murders Cruz committed. The question facing jurors now was whether Cruz would spend the rest of his life in prison or be sentenced to death. Cruz carried out the massacre on Valentine’s Day in 2018. He entered a school building through an unlocked side door and used an AR-15-style rifle to kill 14 students and three staff members, as well as wound 17 others. What is the purpose of it?

Jurors recommended life in prison for the Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz Thursday after the final vote for the death penalty was not unanimous.

A Parkland school shooting trial juror said a fellow juror threatened her. Shooter Nikolas Cruz avoided the death penalty, leaving parents shocked.

"I just want him to know that I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of watching me suffer," she said. "The wrong verdict was given out today." "What do we have the death penalty for?" The judge is expected to issue the gunman's formal sentence on November 1 and by law is unable to deviate from the jury's recommendation of life. But several families were insistent that the jury's decision does not deliver them peace. The juror, who ultimately voted against the death penalty, wrote that "some jurors became extremely unhappy once I mentioned that I would vote for life (in prison)." "The State did not call Juror X back and instead, filed a Notice to the Court." When making their decision, jurors weighed the aggravating factors presented by prosecutors against mitigating circumstances laid out by Cruz's defense team, who argued that aspects of his birth and upbringing warranted a lesser punishment. And there was another two that ended up voting the same way," said Thomas. Thursday, a juror wrote a letter to the judge calling the deliberations "tense" and denying an accusation she heard that she had made up her mind to support a life sentence before the trial began. The motion is the latest indication of behind-the-scenes tension among the jury. The state's motion asks Judge Elizabeth Scherer to compel law enforcement officers to interview the juror.

The state filed a motion with the court asking Judge Elizabeth Scherer asking for her to order law enforcement to speak to the juror at the centre of the claims ...

There was one juror that was just very set in what she believed and that was the life (verdict).” [Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) [Privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and [Terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply. [Mediaite](https://www.mediaite.com/crime/scoop-parkland-juror-who-voted-against-death-penalty-wrote-note-to-judge-denying-she-made-up-mind-before-trial/) reported. [10 Local News](https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/10/13/parkland-trial-jurors-answer-questions-following-decision-not-to-execute-confessed-gunman/): “We did go back there and try to hash things out. [sentence of life imprisonment](/news/world/americas/crime/parkland-shooter-nikolas-cruz-death-penalty-b2202131.html) on Thursday, family members of the 17 students and staff members killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2012 [erupted in fury ](/news/world/americas/crime/parkland-shooting-victims-nikolas-cruz-sentence-b2202193.html)at the verdict. [have spoken of their frustration](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/nicolas-cruz-parkland-jury-florida-b2202510.html) at a “holdout” panelist who rejected the [death penalty](/topic/death-penalty) verdict. [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/14/us/parkland-nikolas-cruz-jury-verdict-friday/index.html).

Prosecutors raised alarm about the perceived threat in a filing asking Judge Elizabeth Scherer to launch an investigation hours after the jury recommended a ...

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Prosecutors in the case of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz are calling for an investigation after a juror said she felt threatened by another member of ...

"The deliberations were very tense and some jurors became extremely unhappy once I mentioned that I would vote for life," Cunha wrote. Jury foreman Benjamin Thomas told local reporters that three jurors voted for life on the final ballot. The motion calls for law enforcement to interview the unnamed juror after she told the state attorney's office "she perceived to be a threat from a fellow juror while in the jury room." In the end, the jury could not agree that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones, so Cruz will get life without parole. Relatives, along with the students and teachers Cruz wounded, will be given the opportunity to speak. Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count.

The state filed a motion with the court asking Judge Elizabeth Scherer asking for her to order law enforcement to speak to the juror at the centre of the claims ...

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Parkland verdict - live: Juror 'threatened' during deliberation over Nikolas Cruz sentence · Tensions boiled over in the jury room, according to a new court ...

“What a load of hogwash. [Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) [Privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and [Terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply. “Juror X spoke to a support staff member and informed the support staff member that during deliberations she received what she perceived to be a threat from a fellow juror while in the jury room,” the state said in a filing obtained by CNN. [Parkland shooting survivors demand school be torn down after Nikolas Cruz verdict](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/marjory-stoneman-douglas-high-school-demolished-b2202418.html) [Juror who prevented Nikolas Cruz getting death penalty defends herself](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/nicolas-cruz-parkland-jury-florida-b2202510.html) [Furious Parkland families hit out after Nikolas Cruz spared death penalty](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/parkland-shooting-victims-nikolas-cruz-sentence-b2202193.html) [Prosecutors call for probe into Nikolas Cruz juror’s claim she was threatened](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/parkland-nikolas-cruz-jury-judge-b2202889.html) “Juror X spoke to a support staff member and informed the support staff member that during deliberations she received what she perceived to be a threat from a fellow juror while in the jury room,” states the filing, obtained by [British mother of US school shooting victim condemns verdict as gunman’s life spared](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/parkland-school-shooting-nikolas-cruz-b2202653.html) [denied claims](/news/world/americas/crime/nicolas-cruz-parkland-jury-florida-b2202510.html) in a filing to the court that she had made up her mind about the sentence before hearing the evidence. Helena, who was born in England but moved to the US when she was a child, was just 17 when she died trying to protect a friend as Cruz opened fire in their classroom.

Prosecutors raised alarm about the perceived threat in a filing asking Judge Elizabeth Scherer to launch an investigation hours after the jury recommended a ...

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Prosecutors in the Nikolas Cruz Parkland shooting case are calling for law enforcement to interview a juror who said they felt threatened by another juror ...

“I just want him to know that I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of watching me suffer,” she said. The deliberations became “tense,” a juror wrote in the handwritten letter addressed to Scherer. “The wrong verdict was given out today.” “What do we have the death penalty for?” The prosecution rested their case after jurors were taken to tour the Thursday, a juror wrote a letter to the judge calling the deliberations “tense,” saying some jurors became “extremely unhappy” when she mentioned she’d vote for life in prison. “The State did not call Juror X back and instead, filed a Notice to the Court.” When making their decision, jurors weighed the aggravating factors presented by prosecutors against mitigating circumstances laid out by Cruz’s defense team, who argued that aspects of his birth and upbringing warranted a lesser punishment. And there was another two that ended up voting the same way,” Thomas said. Because Cruz pleaded guilty to all counts, the trial phase was skipped and the court went directly to the sentencing phase. And in an interview, the jury foreman described disagreement among the jury, saying three of the 12 jurors opposed the death penalty in this case. The state’s new motion asks Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer to compel law enforcement officers to interview the juror who reported feeling threatened.

Families oppose verdict from jury, even though it was screened with controversial 'death qualification' process. Josh Marcus reports.

We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. “In my heart, as my mother’s child, I wanted him to be dead like her,” she told The Independent. The dead included Reverend Sharon Risher’s mother, Ethel Lance, and her cousins Susie and Tywanza Sanders, as well as a number of dear friends. “I had to look deep into my values and say, is this something that connects with it? “Combined with the prosecutor’s use of peremptory strikes — or removing jurors without providing a reason — death penalty juries end up being overwhelmingly white, male, and biased in favor of the prosecution and death.” “And I understood that if this is something that I felt that I believe that it needed to apply in my personal case and beyond,” he said. [temporarily postponed jury selection](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/non-unanimous-florida-jury-sentences-nikolas-cruz-to-life-without-parole-for-parkland-school-shootings), after Judge Scherer first struck 11 candidates who opposed the death penalty, then called them back into consideration and allowed attorneys to ask follow-up questions about whether these jurors could set their opinions about executions aside. “The deliberations were very tense and some jurors became extremely unhappy once I mentioned that I would vote for life.” “That history is defining. And there was another two that ended up voting the same way,” he told the station. Because of what happened to our families, we are all in this position now of doing the work that we do around this country to keep this from happening to another family, and this decision today only makes it more likely that the next mass shooting will be attempted.”