The phase of the trial begins on Monday where the sentence will be decided against Nikolas Cruz, accused of shooting 17 people to death at a Florida school.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty last October to 17 counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 14 students and three teachers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, so the only thing in doubt is the sentence. The jury must decide whether he is sentenced to life or death.
The jury — seven men, five women and 10 alternates — will hear from lead prosecutor Mike Satz, who will likely dwell on the brutality with which Cruz prowled the three-story building firing his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle through hallways and classrooms. On occasion, Cruz would turn around, walk up to a badly wounded victim and deliver a coup de grâce.
About 50 relatives of victims were in court, in a cordoned off section. The trial of Cruz, who was a student at the same school, was to begin in 2020 and last about four months, but was delayed by the pandemic and legal obstacles.
The defense lawyers have not said when they will present their arguments, whether it will be at the beginning of the trial or in several weeks when it is their turn. The second possibility is risky because it would give the prosecution the only voice before juries examine the evidence and hear the testimony of survivors and relatives of victims.
Attorney Melisa McNeill is likely to emphasize the fact that Cruz is a young man with lifelong emotional and psychological problems including, possibly, fetal alcohol syndrome and abuse. The goal in such a case would be to temper jurors’ emotions by the time they hear the prosecution’s arguments.
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