Table Of Content
- Group abducts child, threaten woman with knife before attempting to leave Florida: Police
- Bahamas Cruises from Miami
- Alaina Petty's father: State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Parkland shooter should be put to death
- Parkland massacre dad rips school for dodging responsibility over student’s viral parking-lot beating
The suspect in the 2019 massacre of 23 at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart is awaiting trial. However, the jury did find that there were aggravating factors that could warrant the death sentence, but that they did not outweigh the mitigating circumstances. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, while the defense had asked for life in prison. A previous version of this story said Cruz has been sentenced to life in prison. In fact, the jury has recommended that he be sentenced to life, but he has not yet been formally sentenced by a judge. The father of a 14-year-old victim in the Parkland massacre was critical of the jury's decision to recommend life without the possibility of parole for the shooter.
Group abducts child, threaten woman with knife before attempting to leave Florida: Police
Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty a year ago to murdering 14 students and three staff members and wounding 17 others on February 14th, 2018. Cruz said he chose Valentine's Day to make it impossible for Stoneman Douglas students to celebrate the holiday ever again. "This allegation is untrue and I maintained my oath to the court and I would be fair and unbiased," the woman wrote. "The deliberations were very tense and some jurors became extremely unhappy once I mentioned that I would vote for life." Those mitigating factors, the defense had argued, include the shooter's birth mother’s alcohol use, his adoptive parents' failure to get him proper psychiatric care and his admission of guilt.
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Judge Elizabeth Scherer addressed the families of Parkland shooting victims and thanked them for their courage and for sharing their stories and the memories of their loved ones. After the convicted killer is sentenced this week, he will be transferred from the Broward County jail to the state correctional system's processing center near Miami, then later to a maximum-security prison, his lawyers have said. After Cruz is sentenced, he will be transferred from the Broward County jail to the state correctional system's processing center near Miami, then later to a maximum-security prison, his lawyers have said. The newspaper reports that, in all, Cruz's confinement at the jail cost the sheriff's office $2.27 million in overtime, with the majority of the costs going to overtime to two deputies assigned to watch Cruz in his cell at all times. Cruz has been locked up in the Broward Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale since the day of the massacre in 2018. Since that time, the Broward Sheriff's Office said it has cost the agency over $2.5 million to house and supervise the confessed shooter.
Alaina Petty's father: State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Parkland shooter should be put to death
The families of Parkland shooting victims "have to live knowing the fact that the murderer is in the jail every single day, breathing, eating and getting help by their lawyers," Chen said. "What about the kids? What about the families? This is not about the shooter." On each count, the jury found Cruz eligible for the death penalty based on aggravating circumstances – but did not unanimously find that those aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. Jury foreman Benjamin Thomas told WFOR that three jurors ultimately voted for life in prison, with one of them being a "hard no" on the death penalty and another two ultimately choosing to vote against it as well. The jury foreman said three of the jurors ultimately voted for life in prison, with one of them being a "hard no" on the death penalty and another two ultimately choosing to vote against it as well. In an unusually secretive move, the state has refused to disclose the location of convicted killer Nikolas Cruz, 24, who was sentenced to 34 consecutive life terms for the murders and attempted murders he committed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.
His wife, Patricia Oliver, told ABC News she feels enraged, and said her son did not get justice. Oliver wrote on Twitter that the sentence sends a bad message to killers. "But now I have to deal with the fact that this guy ... is going to have a chance to have a hobby, and enjoy three meals and, you know, read every single day. I don't like that. I hope that justice appears in any way at some point." She wrote the letter in an effort to dispel alleged rumors that she always intended to vote against the death penalty. The seven-man, five-woman panel can go through all the evidence, pictures, videos, and witness testimony to help them make a decision.
Parkland massacre dad rips school for dodging responsibility over student’s viral parking-lot beating
Noting examples of innocent Black men who are “mowed down all the time,” she said the jurors allowed the Parkland shooter to live. He said that the jury's decision sets a precedent for other mass shooters, adding, "He should have been given the death penalty from the get-go." "You cannot look at the facts of this case, look at the cruel and inhumane way the 17 victims were treated — that he went back and shot again those that were already down on the ground, I've seen the video" and conclude otherwise, Petty said. The public defenders asked the jury to spare his life, based on his troubled history, from being raised in a dysfunctional family to serious mental and developmental issues. Cruise from the city that never sleeps and wake up to sandy beaches down south.
Juror, allegedly opposed to death sentence, wrote letter to judge
The 12-person jury's recommendation was read in a packed courtroom before visibly distraught family members and the shooter, who remained blank-faced throughout. The judge in the case, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, cannot overrule the jury's decision. 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. She also spoke passionately on the law enforcement response to the Parkland shooter and on police shootings of Black people in the US.
What Will Life in Prison Look Like For The Parkland School Shooter?
Debbi Hixon, the widow of Chris Hixon, a teacher who ran into the school to try and stop the shooter, also had sharp words after the trial results. A woman who identified herself as Helena's cousin said she felt the defense “guilt-tripped” the jury out of the death penalty. "I don't know how the jury came to their conclusion today but 17 families did not receive justice." In laying out their defense, lawyers for Cruz presented testimony from counselors and a doctor who say the defendant suffers from a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a condition that they argued affects his reasoning and behavior. Witnesses testified that his birth mother, Brenda Woodard, had abused alcohol and cocaine while she was pregnant with him. "I pray that that animal suffers every day of his life in jail. And he should have a short life," Alhadeff added.
Treat yourself to some tropical hustle and bustle on a cruise from New York on board a variety of our ships including Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway, or Norwegian Epic. Bid the Big Apple adieu on your way to the next big thing with Norwegian Cruise Line. Scherer could not sentence Cruz to death because a jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty. This comes after Weekes asked the judge to direct the state to encourage its witnesses to not make any statements to or about the defense team and the jury and to stick to their feelings about how Cruz’s sentence affected them. In many of the impact statements heard by the court, some families expressed frustration and anger with the justice system, while others shared stories about what their loved one was like before they were killed in the shooting. At the end of the hearing, the judge remanded Cruz to the Department of Corrections.
For her son Scott, she called him "my irreplaceable son" who she will "honor, cherish and love for every day for the rest of my life." To gunman Nikolas Cruz, she said, "I have never uttered your name, and I never will," addressing him as the "confessed, convicted Parkland mass murderer" in court. Linda Beigel Schulman, whose son, teacher Scott Beigel, was murdered by Cruz, said she hopes Cruz “has the fear in him every second of his life just the way he gave that fear to every one of our loved ones whom he murdered, or the students and people that he harmed."
Broward County Public Defender Gordon Weekes, whose lawyers represent Cruz, said he has no problem with the families expressing their anger directly to Cruz. "We are looking forward to speaking without the guardrails that were imposed upon us," said Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina was murdered. There is another option — Florida is one of many states that participate in the Interstate Prison Compact, an agreement to effectively exchange high-profile prisoners when lives might be at stake. Multiple sources say Cruz is not part of that program and that he remains in Florida.
She did not explain her vote and it is unknown if she is the juror who complained to the state attorney’s office. Prosecutors called for an investigation after one juror said she felt threatened by another member of the jury during deliberations. The sheriff's office did not have the proper safety equipment to make that happen, so the issue will be resolved on Thursday. The juror, who is from Pembroke Pines, told Judge Elizabeth Scherer that she lived up to the terms of the oath of service she took. FORT LAUERDALE -- A juror who allegedly was a lone holdout and was accused of saying she would not support the death penalty for Nikolas Cruz sent a handwritten letter to the judge to refute those accusations. In the trial, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Charles Scott testified for the state that the gunman meets the criteria for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, meaning he showed no regard for right and wrong, and there was evidence showing he knew what he was doing.
Under Florida law, Judge Scherer cannot depart from the jury’s recommendation of life. On October 20, Cruz pleaded guilty to all charges, including murder and attempted murder. Cruz made a statement after pleading guilty in which he expressed regret for his crimes and asked the victims' families to decide his fate. In her victim impact statement, Parkland school shooting victim Joaquin Oliver's girlfriend, Victoria Gonzalez, spoke of the trauma she lives with after the shooting. She concluded her statement by holding up a picture of those killed in the shooting and reading their names and ages.
FORT LAUDERDALE - The jury in the penalty trial of Parkland school gunman Nikolas Cruz has voted to recommend a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in connection to the shooting. The jury had to decide whether to recommend Cruz be sentenced to death or jailed for life without the possibility of parole for each of the 17 counts. A Florida jury recommended Thursday that the man who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The convicted Parkland school shooter is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison this week, following final statements from the families of the 17 people he killed. FORT LAUDERDALE - The jury in the penalty trial of Parkland school gunman Nikolas Cruz has voted to sentence him to life in prison without parole.
After he is sentenced, the Florida Department of Corrections will assign him to a maximum security prison where he would be part of the general population. "We are beyond disappointed with the outcome today," Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter, Alyssa was killed, said at a news conference after the jury's decision was announced. The trial also saw tension between the defense and Scherer in which the gunman's attorneys filed a motion for her to step down, accusing her of being biased, but she refused. On Valentine’s Day 2018, the gunman, then 19, stormed the high school wielding an AR-15-style rifle and released a spray of bullets. Fred Guttenberg, the father of Jaime Guttenberg, 14, said his daughter was shot running down a hallway and no mitigating factors could have weighed against that.
Speaking to the press after the verdict, family members of the victims expressed anger and frustration. Gena Hoyer holds a photograph of her son, Luke, who was killed in the 2018 shootings, as she awaits the verdict at the Broward County Courthouse on Thursday. The mother said the state's attorneys gave a "perfect" execution of the arguments against the gunman. She added that she wants to reconcile with this post-decision reality and not let the shooter take more of their lives away from them. He defended Cruz's attorney, saying the team "appreciates, respects and understands" the loss of the victims' families.
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