"Justice wasn't served": Parkland families outraged as shooter is spared death sentence
The jury foreman said the jurors were divided.
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The jury foreman said the jurors were divided.
Thomas Benjamin told CBS Miami three jurors voted against the death penalty for the gunman, who was convicted of killing 17 people in 2018.
"The monster's going to go to prison and in prison, I'll hope and pray he receives the kind of mercy from prisoners that he showed to my daughter and the 16 others," said Parkland father and activist Fred Guttenberg.
A Florida jury recommended that Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz serve life in prison without parole, sparing him a possible death sentence. CBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez has reaction from the courtroom and CBS News legal contributor Rebecca Roiphe explains what led up to the jurors' decision.
The gunman killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
A Florida jury is deliberating to determine the fate of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz. He pleaded guilty last year to killing 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Prosecutors are recommending that the 24-year-old receive the death penalty. CBS News national correspondent Manuel Bojorquez joined Errol Barnett and Meg Oliver to discuss the case.
The jury, which will be sequestered starting Wednesday, will decide if the gunman will get a death sentence or life behind bars.
The jury will likely decide his fate this week. For the 24-year-old to get a death sentence, the jury must be unanimous on at least one victim.
The motion, filed on Friday, alleged that the judge revealed longstanding animosity toward the defense that threatened the fairness of the trial.
Earlier this week, the judge accused defense attorneys of a lack of professionalism after they rested their case earlier than expected.
The defense abruptly rested its case on Wednesday in the sentencing trial for the Parkland school shooter, sparking a heated exchange with the judge over the attorneys' decision. Watch part of the hearing here.
The shooter's attorneys argued that showing the Nazi symbol violates his right to a fair trial because there is no evidence that the massacre was driven by bigotry.
The second day of defense testimony in the penalty trial for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz included testimony from a former neighbor and a school administrator. CBS Miami has the details.
It was the second day of testimony for the defense in the trial.
"We must understand the person behind the crime," attorney Melisa McNeill told the jury.
Called a "quantitative electroencephalogram" or "qEEG," its backers say it provides useful support to such diagnoses as fetal alcohol syndrome, which Cruz's attorneys contend created his lifelong mental and emotional problems.
Twelve jurors and 10 alternates who will decide whether Cruz gets the death penalty or life in prison made a rare visit to the massacre scene.
The prosecution in the sentencing trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz rested its case hours after the jury visited the crime scene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Thursday.
Jurors aren't allowed to converse with each other - when they retrace the path Cruz followed on Feb. 14, 2018.
The shooter managed to get a hold of the guard's Taser at one point during the fight.
Opening statements are underway in the sentencing trial of the Parkland school shooter. The jury will decide whether he receives the death penalty or life in prison without parole. CBS News' Adriana Diaz and Tony Dokoupil are joined by CBS News national correspondent Manuel Bojorquez with more about the trial and what to expect.
While delivering his opening statement, the lead prosecutor described the shooter as "cold, calculated, manipulative and deadly."
Among the items delivered to Cruz was a letter written by Joaquin Oliver asking for more gun regulation five years before he was killed in the Parkland shooting.
A father who lost his son in the 2018 Parkland school shooting interrupted President Biden at a White House event on gun violence, urging him to do more on gun reform. Manuel Oliver speaks with CBS News' Tanya Rivero on his message for the president and why he felt the need to speak out.
Speaker after speaker in Washington, D.C., called on senators to act or face being voted out of office.