Nikolas Cruz Sentencing

Nikolas Cruz is the suspect in the 2018 mass shooting of 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Cruz admitted to the massacre and pleaded guilty in October to killing 17 people and injuring 17 others inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.

Jury selection begins Monday at the Broward County Courthouse. Twelve jurors and six to eight alternates will be selected to determine if Cruz will spend the rest of his life in prison, without the possibility of parole, or if he will be sentenced to death.

Florida’s death penalty law changed in 2017. Now, all 12 jurors must agree, and a death sentence needs to be unanimous.

for the jury to recommend the death penalty, prosecutors must prove aggravating factors, which include “heinous,” “atrocious” and “cruel,” and that Cruz “knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons.”

In the absence of an aggravating factor, the death penalty cannot be considered by the jury.

The task of the defense is to minimize the damage and to save their client’s life. The defense will present mitigating factors and will dissect Cruz’s background. They will offer into evidence Cruz’s mental health history, his educational history, his family history, and also bring in various witnesses and experts,”

Jury selection is expected to take several weeks. Once a jury is seated, testimony could last four to six months.

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