Credit : edition.cnn.com
Credit : edition.cnn.com
A 12-person jury in the sentencing trial of the Parkland school shooter is expected to begin deliberations Wednesday on whether to recommend the death penalty.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said the jury will be sequestered during their deliberations.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
Should jurors recommend the death sentence, their decision must be unanimous, or Nikolas Cruz will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
If the jury does recommend death, the final decision rests with Judge Scherer, who could choose to follow the recommendation or sentence Cruz to life.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
Cruz has pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in connection with the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in which 14 students and three school staff members were killed.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
The massacre is the deadliest mass shooting at a US high school. In the years since the shooting, survivors and victims’ families became very outspoken on gun control.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
Because Cruz pleaded guilty to all counts, the trial phase was skipped and the court went directly to the sentencing phase.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
Closing arguments in the sentencing trial took place Tuesday, with the defense and prosecution each allotted two and a half hours to make their closing remarks.
Credit : edition.cnn.com
Prosecutors argued Cruz’s decision to commit the shooting was premeditated and calculated, while Cruz’s defense attorneys offered evidence of a lifetime of struggles at home and in school.