Wife of Poconos native killed in Parkland shooting reacts to jury's decision

The family members of victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting were left angered and baffled after a Florida jury spared shooter Nikolas Cruz from the death penalty on Thursday. Many chose to express their disbelief to the press after the decision was made public, including the wife of Chris Hixon, the Poconos native who was killed in the crossfire.

Chris, hailed by many as a hero, graduated Pleasant Valley High School in 1986. He was serving as the athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at the time of the shooting.

"This verdict, to me, what it says to me, what it says to my family," Chris's wife Debra Hixon said after the jury's decision on Thursday. "What it says to the other families is that (Nikolas Cruz's) life meant more than the 17 that were murdered."

"The 17 people that were shot, and the thousands of people in that community, in that school, that were terrorized, and traumatized every single day. And how do you say, 'yes it's cruel', that it was 'heinous' and that 'it was planned', and 'we all agree on that, but oh— he might have had a mental illness, or he... had trouble growing up.

"I have a son with special needs." Hixon continued. "I have a son that checked all of those boxes... a lot of those boxes that the shooter did as well. And you know what? My son is not a murderer."

From Palm Beach Post:Remembering the 17 victims of the Parkland school shooting

Pleasant Valley School District honored Hixon's memory in 2018, 2019

“When Chris heard the gunshots, he got into his golf cart and drove to the school and entered and found the shooter,” former PV High School Principal Matt Triolo said at a ceremony in 2019. “He saved as many students as he possibly could before the shooter moved on. When the police arrived to where Chris was, after being shot multiple times he was standing against the wall, and still had a radio in his hand. He was going to protect his students until he absolutely could not protect them anymore.”

PV dedicated a fitness center in Chris Hixon's name in May of 2019. Chris's memory was also honored with a Best Coach Award ESPY and a scholarship for Broward County, Fla., students.

In 2018, Pleasant Valley School District issued the following statement:

"The Pleasant Valley School District is sad to report the loss of one of our own. Chris Hixon, a 1986 graduate of Pleasant Valley High School, was one of the victims of yesterday's Broward County shooting. Chris was serving as the Athletic Director of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and will be fondly remembered by many members of the Pleasant Valley community. By all accounts, Chris was an outstanding educator and role model for his students. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family."

Not long after the 2018 shooting, students at Pleasant Valley, Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain school districts staged ceremonies of their own in honor of all 17 victims of the Parkland shooting.

At PV, nearly 150 students gathered in the parking lot as they listened to the names of the fallen, read by students. A moment of silence followed each name.

Chris Hixon's name was read last, and by then-middle school Principal Rocco Seiler. The two had been classmates.

From 2019: Pleasant Valley dedicates Chris Hixon Fitness Center

Family members of victims react to Cruz sentence to life in prison

Chen Wang, cousin of victim Peter Wang, called the decision to spare Cruz of the death penalty "insane" at the news conference. "We need justice." He continued.

Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty a year ago to murdering 14 students and three staff members, and wounding 17 others, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.

The three-month trial to determine whether he should be executed included graphic videos and photos from the massacre and its aftermath, heart-wrenching testimony from victims’ family members and a tour of the still blood-spattered building. The jury rejected the death penalty after deliberating for about seven hours over two days.

Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was killed by Cruz, said the families were "beyond disappointed" with the jury's decision.

“This should have been the death penalty, 100%. ... I sent my daughter to school and she was shot eight times. I am so beyond disappointed and frustrated with this outcome. I cannot understand. I just don’t understand."

Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. The jury found there were aggravating factors to warrant the death penalty for each victim, such as agreeing that the murders were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel." But one or more jurors also found mitigating factors, such as untreated issues he had as a child. In the end, the jury could not agree that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones, so Cruz will get life without parole.

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will formally issue the life sentences Nov. 1. Relatives, along with the students and teachers Cruz wounded, will be given the opportunity to speak.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Wife of Pocono native killed by Nikolas Cruz reacts to jury decision