A jury spared Cruz from the death penalty Thursday for killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, sending him to prison for the remainder of his life.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A divided jury spared Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz the death penalty Thursday for killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, sending him to prison for the rest of his life in a decision that left many families of the victims angered, baffled and in tears.
“We went through all the evidence and some of the jurors just felt that was the appropriate sentence,” Thomas said.
“Our justice system should have been used to punish this shooter to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
Just days after the shooting, Cruz’s defense had offered that he plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.
Gordon Weekes, Broward County’s public defender, said his team’s success in getting Cruz a life sentence is not something they will celebrate. »
