Parkland Shooting Trial: Let's see what the prosecutors have to say

WARNING: This story contains graphic depictions. Reader discretion is advised.

Florida school shooter Nicholas Cruz prosecutors seeking to sentence him to death When presenting the case, the facts speak for themselves: gruesome eyewitness testimony. A heartbreaking statement from his parents and spouse. Chilling surveillance video. Horrifying autopsy and crime scene photos. And, to top it all off, blood stains and Valentine's Day cards still clung to the floor in a walkthrough of his three-story building where Thursday's jury case occurred.

Chief Prosecutor Mike Sutz, an 80-year-old former Broward County State Attorney, was then named Marjory Stoneman ofParklandwith his 14 students and his three Staff dropped the lawsuit against the defendant who murdered his member. Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.

Cruise's attorneys repeatedly contested that Satz's lawsuit exceeded what was legally permissible or necessary and was primarily intended to provoke juror sentiment. Sheller.

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Sats found that the murder was "cold, calculated and premeditated" and that Cruz's actions were "vicious, brutal and cruel" and "produced a great crime." I had no doubt that I could prove it. "A danger to many people," and four other aggravating circumstances listed in Florida law could lead him to the death penalty. Sats had to burden them with the need to "outperform" the mitigating factors they will soon present.

"I don't think there were any surprises, but what were the surprises?" said Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University outside Fort Lauderdale. . “The jury knew what Cruise had done.

"He did a great job," said David S. Weinstein, a Miami criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. "He constructed a case that I think gave the jury more than enough to find these aggravating factors, and it wasn't overkill at all."

Later, both sides discussed what evidence Cruz's defense could present as to how his mother's drinking and substance abuse during pregnancy affected his brain and whether it was defective. A week goes by without the jury debating before Judge Scherer. You can see it in the scan.

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Jennifer, University of Florida Law Professor Zedaris said such discussions about scanning for fetal alcohol syndrome go back 20 years.

"Brain scans, MRIs, we can learn from them. End the debate about whether the evidence is of acceptable relevance and credibility," Zedalis said. rice field. If the admissibility of the evidence is borderline, she argues, as the Court of Appeals states, "the defendant being tried for his life deserves wide discretion" as the judge decides that Cruz's attorney

Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder in October. The trial will only decide whether the former Stoneman Douglas student will be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole. For each death sentence, the jury must be unanimous, or the sentence for that victim will be life imprisonment.

After Scherer's sentencing, lead counsel Melisa McNeill delivered her opening statement on August 22, after which, If she and her team.

"This is where the trial really begins," said Jarvis.

READ MORE: Death or life imprisonment: Parkland High School shooter trial before jury begins

Instead, they are expected to focus on his life, starting with his birth mother's addiction. His severe emotional and behavioral problems that began in preschool and his treatment holes. the death of his adoptive father when he was five years old; His adoptive mother died three months before the shooting. Alleged sexual abuse by a "trusted companion". That he was an immature 19 year old. and the bullying he endured from his older brother and younger brother's friends.

McNeill and her team are unlikely to downplay the seriousness of Cruz's actions. They have admitted several times in court that the murders were horrific, and have wiped away tears at some parent statements about their deceased children.

The defense would argue, ``If you let him die, you are ignoring it all, and that is wrong.''

Weinstein said the defense attorney's job was difficult. All jurors swore they could vote for either death or life, based on the evidence, and even if the defense could prove some mitigating factor, it would be hard to beat his 17 people who were murdered in cold blood. Let's go, he said.

"I don't think I'm sympathetic to Cruz for not being as bad as what the prosecutor said. Jarvis said, "Instead, they have to show that he is a victim, that he overlooked, that society betrayed him from the beginning. ...Society created this monster." and failed to stop this monster.

Weinstein said the prosecution said the death penalty was "not appropriate in this situation, why do we have it. Probably worse than this." may occur.”

© 2022 The Canadian Press