Amy Beth Bennett/APįrozen in horror: Notes from inside the Parkland school massacre siteĭefense attorneys in laying out their case in the penalty phase aimed to present the jury with mitigating factors – reasons Cruz should not be put to death. Cruz waived his right to be present at the viewing. This during the penalty phase in the trial of confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz who previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. 4, 2022, to view the "1200 building," the crime scene where the 2018 shootings took place. Cruz said no.Ĭourt deputies exit vans that transported jurors to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The names of witnesses who had yet to be called were read in court, and Cruz was asked if he wanted anyone on the list to testify, including his brother. “Are you comfortable with the decision?” Scherer asked. Scherer on Wednesday questioned Cruz about the defense decision to rest its case, making sure the defendant had an opportunity to discuss it with his lawyers and understood it meant no more witnesses would take the stand in his defense. Closing arguments could take place as early as October 10, the judge said Wednesday. The rebuttal by state prosecutors could happen as soon as September 27. If they do so, the judge could choose to follow their recommendation or sentence Cruz to life instead. To recommend a death sentence, jurors must be unanimous. Prosecutors have asked a jury to recommend he be sentenced to death, while Cruz’s defense has asked for a sentence of life in prison without parole. That triggered the current phase of his trial, which is meant to determine his sentence. Once the jury renders its verdict, I will have much to say,” his tweet read.Ĭruz pleaded guilty last October to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Parkland spree shooting. That is all I will say about the trial at this time. So, quite frankly, this has been long overdue.”įred Guttenberg, the father of Jaime Guttenberg who was killed in the shooting, tweeted his response to the defense resting its case. Taking your headphones off, arguing with me, storming out, coming late intentionally if you don’t like my rulings. McNeil started to respond: “You’re insulting me on the record in front of my client, and I believe that I should be able to defend myself,” the attorney said.īut the judge stopped her, saying, “You’ve been insulting me the entire trial, blatantly. “I honestly, I have never experienced (this) level of unprofessionalism in my career,” Scherer said. “The state’s not ready, they’re not going to have a witness ready. “Even if you didn’t make your decision until this morning, to have 22 people, plus all of the staff and every attorney, march into court and be waiting as if it’s some kind of game – now I have to send them home,” she said. Nikolas Cruz's defense says his brain was 'poisoned' by birth mother's addictions in death penalty trial Without jurors present, state Judge Elizabeth Scherer went on to criticize the defense for “another day wasted” in a trial that has seen numerous delays and postponements.Īmy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Pool/AP “We were waiting for 40 more witnesses,” lead prosecutor Mike Satz said Wednesday, throwing up his hands. Prosecutors in the case, which spawns from the Valentine’s Day 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that reignited calls nationwide for stricter gun laws, then told the judge they were not ready to proceed with their rebuttal. So, its move appeared to come as a shock to the judge and prosecutors, who’d arrived in court expecting Cruz’s defense team to call its first witness of the day. The defense team planned to call 80 witnesses, lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill said in opening the case, but by Wednesday it had called just 26. The defense team in the trial of Parkland, Florida, school shooter Nikolas Cruz abruptly rested its case Wednesday, leading the judge to admonish his attorneys for what she described as a “level of unprofessionalism” she had never before experienced.
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