A jury on Thursday spared the Parkland school shooter and recommended that he be sentenced to life in prison rather than the death penalty after deliberating on the decision for less than a day.
The 12-member jury began its deliberations on whether Nikolas Cruz would be sentenced to life in prison or death after he pleaded guilty to killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018. He injured 17 others.
As the jury forms were read and the death sentence rejected for each victim, the victims' family members wiped away tears, covered their faces and shook their heads in disapproval.
Cruz's trial has stretched on for months, and families of the victims relived the day by attending the trial and serving as witnesses. Attorneys delivered closing arguments Tuesday.
Prosecutor Mike Satz presented a list of several aggravating factors that qualified Cruz for the death penalty, and the jury had to unanimously agree on only one to sentence Cruz to death. The jury had to weigh the aggravating factors against any mitigating factors the defense presented, such as the shooter having fetal alcohol syndrome and experiencing traumatic events while he was a child.
Cruz will be sentenced on November 1. If the jury had recommended the death penalty, the judge could have overruled the decision and sentenced Cruz to life in prison. The option is not available for the judge to recommend the death penalty if the jury didn't unanimously recommend it.
Many of the victims' parents said they hoped the recommendation was the death penalty. However, the jury found that the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating factors, leading to the recommendation of life in prison.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek he wouldn't have been shocked with either decision.
Among the 17 killed in Parkland, 14 were students and three were staff members. Aronberg said that because Cruz wasn't recommended for the death penalty, it could change how often prosecutors seek it in the future.
"To not impose the death penalty after someone slaughters 17 innocents, with most of them being children, then when does it ever get imposed?" he said.
Parents shared their thoughts and feelings after the verdict was read and court was dismissed. They praised Satz for his work and instead blamed the jury for not serving justice. Several parents spoke about how they believed a juror lied about their stance on the death penalty in order to be appointed to the jury. A juror must have had an open mind about the death penalty to be selected for the trial.
Fla @GovRonDeSantis says he's disappointed with Parkland jury verdict. "This stings. It was not what we were hoping for." Says it's his understanding there was one holdout on jury that led to recommendation for life in prison instead of death penalty....
— Gary Fineout (@fineout) October 13, 2022
Politico reporter Gary Fineout tweeted that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis commented after the verdict, saying he was "disappointed" with the jury's recommendation.
According to the tweet, only one juror kept the decision from being unanimous. A unanimous decision would have resulted in the death penalty.
Update 10/13/22, 1:43 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
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