| ...pre-attack diagnoses of autism, anxiety, depression and significant psychological problems, described as a troubled kid obsessed with guns — the police came to the family home frequently to deal with him. Mr. Cruz was adopted at birth, then his adoptive father died when he was young, followed into the grave by his adoptive mother a few months before he ran amok. So really he was a classic school shooter. Interestingly, his biological sister Danielle Woodard, a decade older, is classified as a habitual violent offender... |
or rot in prison instead.The 12-person jury in Fort Lauderdale will not weigh whether Cruz is guilty in the case, since the mass shooter in October copped to killing 17 people at his former school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, on Feb. 14, 2018.
Instead, the jury — which took nearly three months to select — will deliberate on whether Cruz should be sentenced to capital punishment or life in prison without parole. Only one juror needs to oppose the death penalty for Cruz to receive the lesser sentence of life behind bars.
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Nikolas Cruz: 2022-04-12 Judge dismisses pool of 60 potential jurors in trial to decide death penalty for Parkland killer after eight panelists break down in tears and have to be escorted out of courtroom
Nikolas Cruz: 2022-04-05 Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz appears in court as jury selection begins for trial to decide whether he will get the death penalty or life in prison