GUILTY FL - 17 killed in Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Parkland, 14 Feb 2018 *shooter Guilty, School officer NG* #5

[JerseyGirl]

Testimony ends in Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz’s trial

A jury will decide whether Nikolas Cruz should be sentenced to death or life in prison.

www.nydailynews.com

 

[SeesSeas]

Closing arguments to start in Nikolas Cruz trial

Jury deliberations could begin Wednesday.

www.baynews9.com

Defense asks jury to spare life of ‘broken’ Parkland school shooter; prosecution asks for death

Closing arguments will be held Tuesday in the penalty phase of the Parkland school shooter’s case.

www.local10.com

Broward County Judge Elizabeth Scherer told the prosecution and defense teams on Monday that each side would have about two and a half hours to give their closing statements.

The prosecution will go first, followed by the defense. The state will not be able to give a rebuttal argument after the defense.
[...]
Florida requires a jury’s unanimous vote to recommend death for each of the 17 counts of murder. But only one death verdict out of the 17 is enough for Scherer to consider the death penalty.
[...]

 

[JerseyGirl]

Watch Live: Closing arguments begin in the penalty trial of the Parkland school shooter

The case is soon headed for a jury, which will decide if the gunman will get a death sentence or life behind bars.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[SeesSeas]

Closing arguments conclude, jury to decide Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz's fate

The fate of confessed Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz will soon be in the hands of the jurors.

abcnews.go.com

McNeill argued Tuesday that prosecutors tried to "dehumanize" Cruz.

"What they have done is slapped on a label that says he only has a personality disorder... but that doesn't describe all of Nikolas' behavior," she said. "It's easier to call someone antisocial…than to accept what Nikolas Cruz really is: a broken, brain-damaged, mentally ill young man. Do we kill brain-damaged, mentally ill, broken people?"

"He deserves to be punished," McNeill said, adding, "Sentencing Nikolas to death will change absolutely nothing. It will not bring back those 17 innocent victims that he viciously murdered."

 

[JerseyGirl]

Parkland penalty trial: Jurors begin deliberations nearly three months after sentencing phase began

Nikolas Cruz pled guilty last year to the 2018 attack that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, and after a three-month-long trial and hearing all the evidence, it’s time for the jury to make their decision. Should Cruz be sentenced to death or life without parole?

www.fox13news.com

 

[BUF]

Deliberations just started (about 10:45am Wed)

 

[SeesSeas]

Nikolas Cruz trial live updates Wednesday: Jury requests may delay verdict in death-penalty case

Nikolas Cruz trial live updates Thursday: A 12-person jury ended first day of delibrations without a verdict for Parkland school shooter.

news.yahoo.com

[...]
The jury ended its first day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

But before they were released for the day, Judge Elizabeth Scherer received a request from the jury asking to see the AR-15 rifle used by Cruz.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office rejected the request, according to Scherer, for security reasons even though the rifle would not be loaded when given to the jurors.

Scherer said she needed to "stay in her lane" and didn't want to overrule BSO's decision.

Prosecutor Michael Satz objected saying he's been involved in many cases where jurors were able to examine weapons during deliberations.

"This is ridiculous," said Satz, adding jurors in his prior cases have requested to see "machetes" which he said "are much more dangerous" than an unloaded gun.

The situation will be ironed out on Thursday before the jury resumes deliberations.
[...]
Jurors will stay overnight at an undisclosed hotel until they reach a verdict.
[...]

 

[BUF]

Verdict reached. Will be read @10:30 EST.

 

[Kristin Esq.]

Here is a link to watch

 

[Chelly]

Another link

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Parkland school shooter avoids the death penalty after jury recommends life in prison without parole

The shooter pleaded guilty last October to 17 counts of murder in the deaths of 14 students and three staffers in the Valentine's Day 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Kristin Esq.]

So for count 1, they found all the aggravating factors were met, but it wasn't enough to overcome the mitigating factors?

 

[Kristin Esq.]

The families look so distraught and unhappy

 

[Leilei]

The families look so distraught and unhappy

There's some anger in there, too. A lot of it.

 

[Tracey4AU]

So far NO death penalty....the jurors didn't find the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. That's with 6 out of 17 verdicts read so far.

 

[Marysmith]

The families look so distraught and unhappy

The trial was an ordeal… can’t even imagine. So long and so many issues besides just the regular pain and anger!

 

[Kristin Esq.]

So far NO death penalty....the jurors didn't find the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. That's with 6 out of 17 verdicts read so far.

Sounds like no death penalty at all.

 

[Kakidoll]

I'm betting ONE holdout on death penalty. If ever there was a case... this was it, NO DOUBT in MY mind.

 

[Tracey4AU]

Sounds like no death penalty at all.

Yep....

 

[Elley Mae]

Nikolas Cruz jury recommends life sentence for Parkland massacre — but he could still get death

Nikolas Cruz jury recommends life sentence for Parkland massacre — but he could still get death

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz has been sentenced for the murder of 14 students and three teachers.

nypost.com

Judge Elizabeth Scherer is reading out the jury’s verdicts in each of the 17 killings, after which she will decide between death and life imprisonment for Cruz.