Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz avoids death penalty

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz has avoided the death penalty after a jury recommended a whole life sentence instead.

Cruz was on trial for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting where he killed 17 people. Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder, the only issue to be decided was whether he receive death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The jury recommendation is not the official sentence, Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will formally sentence Cruz on November 1st.  Under Florida law, Judge Scherer cannot deviate from the jury’s recommendation of a life sentence.

The jury did not make eye contact with the victims’ families as the sentence was read. The families vented their frustration about Cruz avoiding the death penalty.

Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was killed by Cruz told NBC that he had hoped for the death penalty.

“Even the death penalty was not enough for me,” he said. “The way that Joaquin died … the amount of suffering and pain, the shooter will have never received that punishment.”

“But now I have to deal with the fact that this guy … is going to have a chance to have a hobby, and enjoy three meals and, you know, read every single day. I don’t like that. I hope that justice appears in any way at some point.”

Tony Montalto, who is the the father of 14-year-old victim Gina, said the jury’s decision was a “gut punch” for the victims’ families, venting that “the monster that killed them gets to live to see another day.”

“This shooter did not deserve compassion,” he said outside the courtroom, after the jury’s findings were read. “Did he show the compassion to Gina when he put the weapon against her chest and chose to pull that trigger, or any of the other three times that he shot her? Was that compassionate?”

Debra Hixon rebuked the defense’s arguments about Cruz’s mental health and learning difficulties, pointed to another one of her sons, who has special needs.

“I have a son that checked … a lot of those boxes that the shooter did as well,” she said. “And you know what? My son’s not a murderer. My son’s the sweetest person that you could ever meet.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was disappointed with both the jury’s decision, and the amount of time it took justice to run its course.

“I was very disappointed to see that,” DeSantis said of the jury’s verdict. “I’m also disappointed that we’re four and a half years after these killings, and we’re just now getting this.”

Cruz will remain in custody until his November 1st sentencing.