Sentencing the Parkland killer | Day 12

Victoria Ballard, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·1 min read
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Here are updates from Day 12 in the sentencing trial of confessed Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, 23; a jury will decide if he will be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole. He pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

  • Juror interviews: Lawyers continued to interview jurors in groups ranging from 5 to 11 on their views about the death penalty.

  • Updated schedule: The judge plans to finish jury selection by June 8. Opening statements and testimony would start June 27, a week later than originally planned.

  • News to a juror: A potential juror shocked the courtroom with a confession Tuesday. As a non-consumer of news of any kind, he said he’d never heard of the Parkland mass shooting or the gunman. He said he learned more about the case sitting in court on Tuesday than he did during the past four years.

  • Looking ahead: The second phase of jury selection continues Wednesday.

Go to SunSentinel.com/parkland-shooting for complete coverage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy and ongoing coverage of the sentencing trial.

Sun Sentinel staff writer Rafael Olmeda contributed to this report.