Attorney: Nikolas Cruz to plead guilty to Parkland school massacre

3 years ago 230

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The gunman who killed 14 students and 3 unit members astatine a Parkland, Florida, precocious schoolhouse volition plead blameworthy to their murders, his attorneys said Friday, bringing immoderate closure to a South Florida assemblage much than 3 years aft an onslaught that sparked a nationwide question for weapon control.

The blameworthy plea would acceptable up a punishment signifier wherever Nikolas Cruz, 23, would beryllium warring against the decease punishment and hoping for beingness without parole.

Cruz lawyer David Wheeler told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer that helium volition plead blameworthy Wednesday to 17 counts of first-degree execution successful the February 2018 shooting astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The pleas volition travel with nary conditions and prosecutors inactive program to question the decease penalty. That volition beryllium decided by a jury, with the justice hoping to commencement the proceedings successful January aft choosing a assemblage from thousands of prospects starting successful November.

Cruz volition besides plead blameworthy to 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder. He was not initially contiguous during the hearing, but aboriginal entered the Broward County courtroom to plead blameworthy to attacking a jailhouse defender 9 months aft the shooting.

Cruz said helium understood that prosecutors tin usage the condemnation arsenic an aggravating origin erstwhile they aboriginal reason for his execution.

The proceedings has been delayed by the pandemic and arguments implicit what grounds could beryllium presented to the jury, frustrating immoderate victims' families and the wounded.

Samantha Grady, who was injured successful the massacre and mislaid her champion friend, 17-year-old Helena Ramsay, said she is gladsome Cruz is yet acknowledging the harm helium caused.

“I anticipation we tin commencement the process of genuinely moving on,” she said. “His punishment should beryllium adjacent to the lives helium has taken, the accent and horrors helium has caused successful a full community, a full state.”

Mitch and Annika Dworet, the lone victims' parents to be the hearing, said they are relieved the lawsuit is yet moving toward closure. Their 17-year-old lad Nick died successful the shooting portion his younger member Alex was wounded.

Mitch Dworet said helium tries hard not to deliberation astir the case, saying helium wants to absorption connected their sons. But his woman interjected, “We privation justness — it's time.” For them, that means Cruz's execution.

“We would similar to spot him suffer,” helium said.

Andrew Pollack, whose 18-year-old girl Meadow was killed, said successful a telephone interrogation helium besides wants Cruz executed. “Death by lethal injection seems excessively peaceful to me. I’d alternatively spot a hanging successful a nationalist square.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, Parkland pupil activists formed March for Our Lives, a radical that rallied hundreds of thousands astir the state for tighter weapon laws, including a nationally televised march successful Washington, D.C.

The determination by Cruz to plead blameworthy came unexpectedly. He had been acceptable to spell connected proceedings adjacent week for the attack connected the Broward County jailhouse guard.

Cruz and his lawyers had agelong offered to plead blameworthy to the shooting successful speech for a beingness sentence, but prosecutors had rejected that deal.

Attorney David Weinstein, a erstwhile Florida authoritative who is not progressive successful the case, said by pleading blameworthy to the execution charges, Cruz's lawyers volition beryllium capable to archer the assemblage successful the punishment proceeding that helium “has accepted responsibility, has shown remorse and saved the victim’s families the further trauma of a guilt signifier trial.”

The jurors besides won’t repeatedly spot the information videos that reportedly captured the shooting successful graphic detail. Their extremity volition beryllium to transportation 1 juror to ballot for a beingness condemnation — unanimity volition beryllium required to condemnation Cruz to death.

Cruz’s rampage crushed the veneer of information successful Parkland, an upper-middle-class assemblage extracurricular Fort Lauderdale with small crime.

Cruz was a longtime, but troubled resident. Broward sheriff’s deputies were often called to the location successful an upscale vicinity helium shared with his widowed parent and younger member for disturbances, but they said thing was ever reported that could person led to his arrest.

Cruz alternated betwixt accepted schools and those for troubled students.

He attended Stoneman Douglas starting successful 10th grade, but his troubles remained — astatine 1 point, helium was prohibited from carrying a backpack to marque definite helium didn’t transportation a weapon. Still, helium was allowed to enactment connected the school’s firearm team.

He was expelled astir a twelvemonth earlier the onslaught aft galore incidents of antithetic behaviour and astatine slightest 1 fight. He past began posting videos online successful which helium threatened to perpetrate violence, including astatine the school.

When Cruz’s parent died of pneumonia 4 months earlier the shooting, helium began staying with friends, taking his 10 guns with him.

Someone disquieted astir his affectional authorities called the FBI a period earlier the shooting to pass agents helium mightiness termination people. The accusation was ne'er forwarded to the agency’s South Florida office.

Another acquaintance called the Broward Sheriff’s Office with a akin warning, but erstwhile the lawman learned Cruz was past surviving with a household person successful neighboring Palm Beach County helium told the caller to interaction that sheriff’s office.

In the weeks earlier the shooting, Cruz began making videos proclaiming helium was going to beryllium the “next schoolhouse shooter of 2018.”

The shooting happened connected Valentine’s Day. Students had exchanged gifts and galore were dressed successful red.

Cruz, past 19, arrived astatine the field that day successful an Uber, assembled his firearm successful a stairwell and past opened occurrence successful the three-story schoolroom building.

Cruz yet dropped his firearm and fled, blending successful with his victims arsenic constabulary stormed the building. He was captured astir an hr aboriginal walking done a residential neighborhood.

The shooting led to a authorities instrumentality that requires each Florida nationalist schools to person an equipped defender connected field during people hours.

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Associated Press reporters Freida Frisaro successful Fort Lauderdale, Adriana Gomez Licon successful Miami and Curt Anderson successful St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this story.

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