Here’s Why The Parkland Shooter Didn’t Get The Death Penalty, Angering Families

Topline

A judge Wednesday formally sentenced 24-year-old Nikolas Cruz to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida—but families of the school shooting victims have been angered by a jury’s decision and a Florida law that will prevent Cruz from receiving the death penalty.

Key Facts

A Florida jury last month recommended Cruz—who killed 14 students and three staff members with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle in February 2018—be sentenced to life in prison after a grueling three-month trial in which prosecutors sought the death penalty for Cruz.

The jury found that Cruz knowingly created a “great risk of death to many persons,” calling the shooting “especially heinous and cruel,” but three of 12 jurors voted against the death penalty.

After being one of the only states to allow juries to impose a death penalty with a simple 7-to-5 majority, in 2017, former Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) changed state law to require a unanimous jury to impose capital punishment (Florida’s Supreme Court in 2020 said a unanimous recommendation should no longer be required, but lawmakers have yet to make changes to the law, according to the New York Times).

Every state with the death penalty—except Alabama—as well as federal law requires a unanimous jury decision to impose the death penalty.

The decision sparked the ire of families of the victims, who expressed their outrage with the jury’s recommendation during a sentencing hearing Tuesday.

During the hearing, some families asked lawmakers to change Florida’s unanimous jury law, while they also had the chance to speak directly to Cruz, with one grandmother of a 14-year-old killed in the shooting telling him he should “burn in hell.”

Crucial Quote

Cruz “shouldn’t live while my sister rots in a grave,” Anthony Montalto, whose 14-year-old sister Gina was killed in the shooting, said Tuesday.

News Peg

Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who did not have the ability to overrule the recommendation from the jury, formally sentenced Cruz on Wednesday after more families of those killed in the massacre shared statements.

Key Background

On February 14, 2018, Cruz, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, opened fire on his former classmates. Journal entries and social media posts suggested Cruz may have been planning the shooting for months. He pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder in 2021. His trial began in July in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and included emotional testimony from former teachers and students who shared details of the horrific attack. Cruz’s lawyers argued that his mother’s alcohol consumption and drug use while she was pregnant caused him to suffer from undiagnosed neurological disorders, and at least one juror has said Cruz’s mental health is the reason she chose not to recommend the death sentence. Families expressed disbelief and rage over Cruz’s sentence, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also argued the decision was a “miscarriage of justice,” saying the “only appropriate sentence for the massacre of 17 innocent people is the death penalty.”

Further Reading

Parkland Families Express Rage and Grief at Gunman’s Sentencing (New York Times)

The Parkland school shooter is set to be sentenced to life in prison today (CNN)

Parkland Jury Verdict: Life In Prison For Gunman Nikolas Cruz (Forbes)