CNN
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Nicolas Cruz, who was involved in the Parkland school shooting, will be officially sentenced to life in prison this week.
Debra Hickson, the widow of victim Christopher Hickson, told Cruise in his first statement Tuesday morning, noting that a jury in Florida made a decision last month not to endorse him. be sentenced to death.
“You have been given the gift of grace and mercy,” she added.
After a months-long trial to determine whether Cruz should face the death penalty, a jury has sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the South Florida high school shooting that killed 17 people. saved the life of the defense attorney. He was mentally ill and claimed to be mentally ill.
Because the jury recommended a life sentence – three voted against the death sentence, which must be unanimous in Florida – Broward County Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Scherrer found 17 murders and 17 murders last year. Their decision must be followed when they sentence Cruz, 24, who pleaded guilty to the charges of attempted murder.
Follow Live Update: Parkland Shooter Nicolas Cruz Officially Sentenced
Scherrer is set to make a formal sentencing on Wednesday, and many of the victims’ families, disappointed and angry at the jury’s sentencing recommendations, will stand up again Tuesday to testify about the repercussions of his actions. I was given the opportunity.
Cruz’s trial ended just over a year after he pleaded guilty in connection with the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Despite the continuation, it remains the deadliest high school shooting in the United States. A teacher and student were killed in a shooting in St. Louis last week.
Many of Parkland’s relatives had already given testimony this summer, describing the depth of the loss they had suffered over the days prosecutors closed the case. According to the father of 14-year-old victim Jaime Guttenberg, one of the students of .
“It wasn’t as much as we felt,” Fred Guttenberg told CNN last month after the jury’s decision. You can say whatever you want, including
In a statement to CNN, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office confirmed that the second round of shock testimony to the victims was conducted over two days and that those who survived the shooting also have the right to speak. It’s unclear how many will run, but there is no time limit, and some may testify via videoconference.
According to the state attorney’s office, this week’s victim impact statement does not need to be presented to an attorney in advance.
“I have a lot more to say. I have a lot more to say directly to the killer,” Guttenberg told CNN, adding, “So that we can tell him exactly how we feel about him.” will be,” he added.
Because of his plea, Cruz skipped the guilty stage of his trial and instead proceeded directly to the sentencing stage, where prosecutors sought a death sentence.
To reach a decision, jurors heard prosecutors and defense counsel discuss exacerbating factors and mitigating circumstances for months.
Prosecutors have pointed to seven aggravating factors, including that the killing was particularly heinous, brutal, cruel, callous, calculated and premeditated, and that the shooter spent months following the meticulous attention to detail. They backed up their claims with evidence that they paid to plan the shootout and modified the AR-15 to shoot better. Shooting and accumulating ammo.
Prosecutors also presented Cruz’s online search history showing how he solicited information about past mass shootings, as well as comments he left on YouTube sharing his apparent desire to carry out mass murder. Did.
Chief Prosecutor Michael Satz said during closing arguments, “What a man writes is a window into someone’s soul.”
But the defense attorney said his client should be sentenced to life in prison instead, pointing to a lifelong struggle that began before he was born. Deficits attributed to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Despite his problems and educators and school counselors who were concerned about his behavior and poor academic performance, defense attorneys argued that Cruz did not receive adequate or appropriate intervention. was due to his late adoptive mother, who defense attorney Melissa McNeil said she “didn’t really understand” what was wrong with him.
In his closing statement, McNeil said, “Sometimes those who deserve compassion and grace and reflection the least deserve it.”
In making their decision, the jury unanimously agreed that the states had proven aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt – and they were sufficient to warrant a possible death sentence. did.
Ultimately, however, the jury unanimously disagreed that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating circumstances, and as a result recommended life imprisonment rather than the death penalty.
Three jurors voted against the death sentence recommendation, jury head Benjamin Thomas told CNN affiliate WFOR – he disagreed with the decision, saying:
One juror failed to vote in favor of the death penalty. She “didn’t believe he should be put to death because he had a mental illness,” Thomas said. Two more jurors joined her.
Juror Melody Vanoy told CNN that the woman “didn’t move” from that position. She said, “Whether it took her ten hours or five days to ponder, she didn’t feel moved either way.”
Vanoy herself voted for life and told CNN that she was persuaded because she “felt the system had failed.”
Either way, the result did little good for the bereaved families who wanted Cruz to be sentenced to death.
“I’m sick of those jurors,” said Iran Alhadev, the father of student victim Alyssa Alhadev. “I’m fed up with the system where 17 people die and 17 people are shot without getting the death penalty. What is the death penalty for?”
“This shooter deserved no sympathy,” Tony Montalt, the father of murdered 14-year-old Gina Montalt, said outside the courtroom after the jury’s findings were read.
“Did he show compassion for Gina when he put the weapon to her chest and pulled the trigger, or when he shot her the other three times? Was it compassion?”
Not all victims’ relatives felt that way. Before the trial ended, Robert Schentrup, brother of victim Carmen Schentrup, told CNN that he opposed the death penalty in Cruz’s case, and in all other cases.
“Logically speaking, to say, ‘Killing someone is this horrible, heinous, horrible, horrible thing, and I’m going to do it to someone to prove the point’ is Don’t obey me,’ he said. ‘”
