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Following a three-month sentencing trial in Florida, jurors have delivered their verdict on Nikolas Cruz, who has pleaded guilty to murder charges in connection with the 2018 Parkland shooting. Cruz faced either a life sentence or the death penalty, and the jury has opted for the former sentence, reports have confirmed today. Reuters has reported that jurors have determined he will spend the rest of his life in prison, a sentence sought by Cruz’s legal team.
He plead guilty to charges relating to the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
They include 17 counts of first-degree murder and another 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder relating to the killings of 14 children and three staff members at the school.
Prosecuting lawyers had sought the death penalty, and argued the crimes perpetrated by Cruz were premeditated, heinous and cruel, among the criteria used to qualify a death sentence in Florida law.
The proceedings included testimony from relatives of shooting victims and videos depicting students at the school hiding from the lone gunman’s semi-automatic weapon fire.
Cruz’s representation had acknowledged the severity of the crimes but asked the jurors to consider mitigating factors.
These included lifelong mental health conditions that resulted from his mother’s substance abuse during pregnancy.
Cruz also apologised for the crimes he committed in 2018 aged 19 after being expelled from high school.
He requested a life sentence without the possibility of parole so he could dedicate the rest of his life to helping others.
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