Parkland Shooter's Defense Attorneys To Argue Against Death Sentence

Attorneys representing convicted Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz are set to argue against him being sentenced to death.

Melissa McNeill is expected to give an opening statement on Monday that will outline Cruz's past.

The defense team will claim Cruz, 23, had suffered sexual abuse by a "trusted peer," been bullied and suffered emotional problems following his adoptive mother's death four months before he killed 17 people during the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018.

Cruz's fate will be decided by the jury, made up of seven men and five women, who will consider whether the prosecution's aggravating circumstances "outweigh" the defense team's mitigating factors.

In Florida, only a unanimous recommendation by the jury can result in a death sentence. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been no executions in the state since 2019.

Miami-based defense attorney David S. Weinstein said the defense team is "going to say, 'look, you saw what happened'—we are not going to argue that.

"It was horrible, that was awful, that was horrific, whatever adjectives you want to use."

He then said the team would argue: "He (Cruz) never had a chance and, because of that, his poor victims never had a chance."

Cruz, who was 19 when he carried out the shooting, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder in October, 2021 and the current trial will only determine his sentence.

His defense team is hoping that Cruz will be sentenced to life without parole instead of death.

But their case comes after the prosecution outlined the impact the shooting has had on the lives of multiple families.

During the sentencing proceedings on August 2, the jury heard the emotional testimonies of the parents of victims, including that of Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jamie was fatally shot.

He said: "I cannot recall if I actually ever did tell Jaime that day how much I loved her. I never knew that I would lose the chance to say it over and over again."

Guttenberg added: "Our family's broken. The easy joy that used to be a part of our house is gone. Jamie used to be the leader of the energy in our home."

During Guttenberg's testimony, public defender Nawal Najet Bashiman could be seen dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

Newsweek has contacted Melissa McNeill for comment.