Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to the murder of 17 people in a shooting rampage at Parkland High School, Florida. A jury will decide if he will be executed.
The relatives of victims, who watched the hearing via Zoom, broke down in tears as Cruz entered his pleas. Later, he apologized.
Tony Montalto said, “Today we witnessed a cold and calculated killer confess to the killing of my daughter Gina” He shot his daughter, who was then 14 years old, several times from close range. “His guilty pleas were the first step in the judicial procedure but there is no change to my family. Gina, our bright, beautiful and beloved daughter, is now gone, while her killer continues to enjoy the blessings of life in prison.
After the guilty pleas, 12 jurors will decide whether Cruz, 23 years old, should be sentenced to life or death. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer has plans to screen thousands more potential jurors due to the case’s popularity. The jury selection process is set to begin Jan. 4.
After answering many questions from Scherer, Cruz made his pleas and entered his guilty pleas. He was charged with 17 charges of murder and 17 counts for attempted first-degree murder of those injured in the February 14, 2018 attack on Marjory Stoneman Doug High School in Parkland. This school is just outside Fort Lauderdale.
After answering many questions from Scherer, Cruz made his pleas and entered his guilty pleas. He was charged with 17 charges of murder and 17 counts for attempted first-degree murder of those injured in the February 14, 2018 attack on Marjory Stoneman Doug High School in Parkland. This school is just outside Fort Lauderdale.
As parents looked on, Cruz apologized and said, “I’m very sorry about what I did.” I can’t live with myself sometimes.” “I can’t live without myself sometimes,” he said. He also stated that he wishes it was up the survivors to decide whether he died or lived.
As Cruz’s statement was made, parents laughed at it and said that it was self-serving and meant to elicit sympathy. Gena Hoyer, the mother of Luke, a 15-year old boy who died in the shooting, said that it was part of a defense strategy to “keep a violent, evil person off death Row.”
She stated that her son was a “sweet young man with a future and the person you see in there today chose his death.” He is not worthy of life in prison.
Anthony Borges was a Stoneman Douglas student who was gunned down five times and left severely injured. He told reporters that he accepted Cruz’s apology but that it wasn’t up to him to decide the fate of the murderer.
Borges stated that “he made the decision to shoot at the school.” He made the decision to shoot the school. I am not God. It’s not mine decision. My goal is to be a better person, and to make the world a better place for all children. This should never happen again. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It really hurts. I’m going to keep going. That’s all.
Cruz’s lawyers announced that he would plead guilty at a hearing last Wednesday.
After Wednesday’s pleas, Mike Satz, the former Broward State Attorney, retold the details of the murders. Investigators stated that Cruz attacked Stoneman Douglas’ three-story Stoneman Douglas building and killed 14 students as well as three staff members during a seven minute rampage. Investigators said Cruz shot victims in the hallways, classrooms, and with an AR-15 semiautomatic gun. Sometimes he returned to the injured to kill them. Cruz was expelled from Stoneman Doug a year prior due to threatening, frightening and sometimes violent behavior dating back to preschool.
After Satz was done, the judge had several seconds to regroup before she spoke again. Her voice broke.
Stoneman Douglas students were among those who started the March for Our Lives movement to push for tighter gun control in their country.
Cruz’s lawyers offered to plead guilty to the crime in exchange for a life sentence. This would have spared the community from the emotional trauma of having to relive the attack at trial. Satz refused the offer and said Cruz deserved to be executed. He was appointed lead prosecutor. After 44 years as a state attorney, Satz, now 79, was elected to resign, but he remains Cruz’s chief prosecution.
Harold Pryor is his successor and he opposes the death penalty, but has stated that he will adhere to the law. He refused to accept the defense offer, just like Satz. This would have been hard for him as an elected official in liberal Broward County where Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 2: 1.
His attorneys will be able argue that Cruz took responsibility for his actions by having him plead guilty.
Prosecutors will present evidence about the shooting as they would at any other trial. This includes security footage that appears to show many of the murders in detail. They will also have the opportunity to present evidence that Cruz planned the attack for years and threatened others via cellphone video. Witnesses from students and teachers, as well as those who were injured, will be allowed to testify.
To show the impact that the deaths have had on the families and community, the prosecution will also ask for testimony from spouses and parents of victims.
The defense will then present mitigating testimony. This will likely include testimony about Cruz’s life including his mental and emotional instability, the death of his father when he turned 5, and the death of his mother four months prior to the shootings.
All 12 jurors must consent to a death sentence. Judge Scherer will decide if they agree.
