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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 14 OctOber 2022
Parkland school shooter to get life sentence for killing 17

By TERRY SPENCER jected that.
Associated Press Broward State Attorney
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Harold Pryor released a
(AP) — A jury spared Flori- statement Thursday saying:
da school shooter Nikolas “We have not shied away
Cruz from the death pen- from telling all of the horror,
alty Thursday for killing 17 all of the loss, all of the dev-
people at a Parkland high astation, all of the pain, all
school in 2018, sending him of the facts, all of the truth.
to prison for the remainder We hope that, while there
of his life in a decision that is no such thing as closure,
left many families of the this will bring some measure
victims angered, baffled of finality and justice to this
and in tears. terrible chapter.”
“This is insane. Everyone Cruz, a former student at
knows right? This is in- the school, said he chose
sane,” Chen Wang, cousin Valentine’s Day to make
of shooting victim Peter it impossible for Stoneman
Wang, said at a news con- Douglas students to cele-
ference after the jury’s de- brate the holiday again.
cision was read. “We need The massacre is the deadli-
justice.” est mass shooting to go to
Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty a trial in the U.S. Nine other
year ago to murdering 14 Assistant public defender Melisa McNeill, seated with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School people in the U.S. who fa-
students and three staff shooter Nikolas Cruz touches her hands to her head as the last of the 17 verdicts were read in tally shot at least 17 people
members, and wounding the penalty phase of Cruz’s trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on died during or immediately
17 others, at Marjory Stone- Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. Associated Press after their attacks by sui-
man Douglas High School cide or police gunfire. The
on Feb. 14, 2018. the aggravating factors everyone has the right to Michael Schulman, the suspect in the 2019 massa-
The three-month trial to de- outweighed the mitigating decide for themselves.” stepfather of teacher Scott cre of 23 at an El Paso, Tex-
termine whether he should ones, so Cruz will get life He said the jurors reached Beigel, said the decision as, Walmart is awaiting trial.
be executed included without parole. their decision Wednesday, gives anyone a license to Satz, the lead prosecutor,
graphic videos and photos Circuit Judge Elizabeth then went home to sleep kill, then claim mental illness kept his case simple for the
from the massacre and its Scherer will formally issue on it before bringing it to as a defense. “This animal seven-man, five-woman
aftermath, heart-wrench- the life sentences Nov. 1. the judge on Thursday. deserves to die. He hunted jury.
ing testimony from victims’ Relatives, along with the He said he feels bad for the all of these people,” Schul- He focused on Cruz’s eight
family members and a tour students and teachers Cruz families of victims and that man said. “He planned it months of planning, the
of the still blood-spattered wounded, will be given the “it hurt” to watch the deci- for months.” seven minutes he stalked
building. The jury rejected opportunity to speak. sions being read in court. As he spoke to the media, the halls of the three-story
the death penalty after de- Cruz, his hair unkempt, “There’s nothing we could Schulman held up a lap- classroom building, firing
liberating for about seven largely sat hunched over do. It’s the way the law is. top with an image of Cruz 140 shots with an AR-15-
hours over two days. and stared at the table as And that’s how we voted,” in the school hallway with a style semi-automatic rifle,
“We are beyond disap- the jury’s decisions were he said. gun. “The last thing my son and his escape.
pointed with the outcome read. Rumblings grew from “This has been really hard saw was the gunman aim- He played security vid-
today,” Lori Alhadeff, the family section packed on my heart … I’d rather ing at him,” he said. eos of the shooting and
whose daughter, Alyssa, with about three dozen not see anything like this Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis showed gruesome crime
was killed, said at the news parents, spouses and other ever again.” said it “stings” that Cruz did scene and autopsy photos.
conference. relatives of the victims as it Tony Montalto, father of not receive the death pen- Teachers and students testi-
“This should have been the became apparent the jury Gina Montalto, expressed alty. fied about watching others
death penalty, 100%. ... I was not going to recom- disbelief at the finding. He In a case like this, “where die. He took the jury to the
sent my daughter to school mend the death penalty. said the jury recognized you’re massacring those fenced-off building, which
and she was shot eight Many shook their heads, that Cruz committed ter- students with premedita- remains blood-stained and
times. I am so beyond dis- looked angry or covered rible acts, “shooting, some tion in utter disregard for bullet-pocked.
appointed and frustrated their eyes as the judge victims more than once basic humanity ... I just Cruz’s lead attorney Meli-
with this outcome. I cannot spent 50 minutes read- on a pass, pressing the don’t think anything else sa McNeill and her team
understand. I just don’t un- ing the jury’s decision for barrel of his weapon to is appropriate except a never questioned the hor-
derstand.” each victim. Some parents my daughter’s chest. That capital sentence,” DeSan- ror he inflicted, but focused
Under Florida law, a death sobbed as they left court. doesn’t outweigh that poor tis said. on their belief that his birth
sentence requires a unani- Jury foreman Benjamin little what’s-his-name had a Multiple family members mother’s heavy drinking
mous vote on at least one Thomas, in an interview tough upbringing?” called Cruz a “monster” during pregnancy left him
count. The jury found there broadcast on local TV sta- “Our justice system should and talked about the years with fetal alcohol spectrum
were aggravating factors tion WPLG, indicated that have been used to punish they waited for justice. They disorder.
to warrant the death pen- more than one juror voted this shooter to the fullest ex- thanked prosecutors for Their experts said his bizarre,
alty for each victim, such as for life in prison instead of tent of the law,” he said. their work, but in the end, troubling and sometimes
agreeing that the murders the death penalty. Montalto, president of they said, they got another violent behavior starting at
were “especially heinous, “We went through all the Stand With Parkland, which blow. age 2 was misdiagnosed
atrocious, or cruel.” But one evidence and some of the represents most of the fami- Just days after the shoot- as attention-deficit/hyper-
or more jurors also found jurors just felt that was the lies and other relatives, also ing, Cruz’s defense had of- activity disorder, meaning
mitigating factors, such as appropriate sentence,” said the decision would do fered that he plead guilty he never got the proper
untreated issues he had Thomas said. “I didn’t vote nothing to deter another in exchange for a life sen- treatment. That left his wid-
as a child. In the end, the that way, so I’m not happy person from gunning down tence. But then-Broward owed adoptive mother
jury could not agree that with how it worked out, but multiple people in a school. State Attorney Mike Satz re- overwhelmed, they said. q