Amy Beth Bennett/Pool/AFP via Getty
A Florida jury determined Thursday that Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz should not be sentenced to death for his massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
The verdict, delivered after just a day of deliberations, came after an agonizing trial that lasted nearly four months, featuring heart-wrenching testimony from 90 survivors, footage of the slaughter itself, and even a testy argument between Judge Elizabeth Scherer and Cruz’s defense attorneys.
Having already pleaded guilty to the shooting last October, Cruz’s trial was solely to determine whether he should be executed or serve a life sentence. Under Florida law, a jury would have to be unanimous in its decision for execution. If even a single juror objected, 24-year-old Cruz would get life without parole.