A jury in Florida has recommended a sentence of life in prison for school gunman Nikolas Cruz over the 2018 Parkland massacre which left 17 people dead.
Cruz pleaded guilty last year to premeditated murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The expelled student was 18 years old when he used a semi-automatic assault rifle to kill 14 students and three staff members in one of America’s worst school shootings.
After three months of testimony and lawyers’ arguments, 12 jurors reached their recommendation after seven hours of deliberations over two days.
As the life sentences were announced many of the relatives of the victims could be seen shaking their heads and some cried.
In Florida, a death sentence could only have been handed down if jurors had unanimously recommended Cruz be executed.
Cruz had said he chose Valentine’s Day to make it impossible for Stoneman Douglas students to celebrate the holiday ever again.
During the three-month sentencing trial the prosecution had argued Cruz’s crime was both premeditated as well as heinous and cruel – details among the criteria Florida law establishes for deciding on a death sentence.
His defence team had acknowledged the severity of his crimes, but asked jurors to consider mitigating factors, including lifelong mental health disorders resulting from his biological mother’s substance abuse during pregnancy.
Cruz had apologised for his crimes and asked to be given a life sentence without the possibility of parole in order to dedicate his life to helping others.
Source: 
news.sky.com
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