Nikolas Cruz's defense begins to present its case in death penalty trial of Parkland school shooter
By Denise Royal and Sara Weisfeldt, CNNUpdated: Mon, 22 Aug 2022 13:33:04 GMTSource: CNNAttorneys for Nikolas Cruz will begin presenting their case to jurors Monday morning that the 23-year-old gunman
By Denise Royal and Sara Weisfeldt, CNNUpdated: Mon, 22 Aug 2022 13:33:04 GMT
Source: CNN
Attorneys for Nikolas Cruz will begin presenting their case to jurors Monday morning that the 23-year-old gunman who killed 17 people and wounded 17 more at a high school in Parkland, Florida, is not deserving of the death penalty.
The defense's opening statements come after prosecutors presented three weeks of testimony in the sentencing phase of his trial, including a trip to the untouched scene of the February 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Prosecutors argued Cruz was "cold, calculative, manipulative and deadly" in carrying out his attack and called to the stand a series of students, teachers, police officers and victims' family members to bear witness to the horrific details of that day.
Jurors have not yet heard from Cruz's team at length, as the defense deferred its opening statements and did not cross-examine any students or teachers who survived the shooting. Attorneys for Cruz only asked basic questions of a few other witnesses.
Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, and the ongoing phase of his criminal trial is to determine his sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, while Cruz's defense attorneys are asking the jury for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lead public defender Melisa McNeill is expected to give the opening statements for the defense. She and her team will lay out Cruz's life history and the mitigating circumstances they believe led him to commit the crime, such as his birth mother's history with drugs and the death of his adoptive parents.
The defense case may include testimony from Cruz's siblings. Last week, Judge Elizabeth Scherer granted the state's motion to compel depositions for Zachary Cruz, the gunman's brother, and Richard Moore, who Zachary currently lives with in Virginia. Zachary Cruz and Richard Moore were ordered by the court to appear September 6 for deposition to "answer each and every question that are posed by the state."
The defense has said it will not attempt to blame the crime on any third party or anyone except Cruz.
If jurors recommend Cruz be sentenced to death, they must be unanimous.
Fourteen of those killed were students: Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alex Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; and Peter Wang, 14.
Geography teacher Scott Beigel, 35; wrestling coach Chris Hixon, 49; and assistant football coach Aaron Feis, 37, also were killed, each while running toward danger or trying to help students to safety.
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