Penalty phase starts for Parkland school shooter
July 18, 2022
The penalty phase in the trial of the man who killed 17 people in the 2018 Parkland high school shooting opened on Monday.
It is one of the deadliest school shootings in US history and the first of its kind to go before a jury.
Nikolas Cruz, who was 19 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.
Around 50 relatives of his victims were in the courtroom on Monday.
The trial is likely to last for months. A death sentence for Cruz would require a unanimous decision by the 12 jurors. If any of them object, he will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
'Cold' and 'calculated' attacker
Lead prosecutor Mike Satz described Cruz as "cold, calculated, manipulative and deadly."
Satz highlighted the brutality of Cruz, who fired his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle down hallways and into classrooms, and sometimes walked back to wounded victims and killed them with a second volley of shots.
"I'm going to speak to you about the unspeakable, about this defendant's goal-directed planned, systematic murder — mass murder — of 14 students, an athletic director, a teacher and a coach," Satz told jurors, saying they would also see video of the crime taken by cameras at the school.
Cruz had fled the scene nine minutes after arriving at the school in an Uber. Police arrested him nearby shortly afterward.
At the time, Cruz was an expelled student who had a documented history of mental health and behavioral issues.
Surge in gun violence
Despite records showing Cruz's history of mental health problems, he was able to legally obtain the AR-15 assault rifle that he used in the attack.
Student-led protests took place across the US in the wake of the 2018 Parkland shooting. Under the banner, "March for Our Lives," hundreds of rallies were held to call for stricter gun policies.
A recent surge in gun violence in the US has reignited the gun control debate.
In May, a teenager shot dead 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in the small city of Uvalde in Texas.
US President Joe Biden last month signed the first major federal gun reform in three decades. The legislation, which was passed with both Democrat and Republican support, includes enhanced background checks for younger buyers.
At a White House event last week to herald the law's passage, a father who lost his son in the Parkland shooting interrupted Biden, shouting, "we've already gone through this for years and years" and said more needs to be done.
fb/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)