‘You deserve the death penalty’: Florida leaders decry life in prison sentence for Nikolas Cruz
Leaders across Florida and loved ones of Parkland shooting victims publicly denounced and expressed anger following the jury's recommendation for a life in prison sentence for Nikolas Cruz, who shot and killed 17 people on Valentine's Day in 2018.
'Stunned, devastated': Parents of Parkland victims react to shooter's life sentence
"What do we have the death penalty for?" one Parkland parent questioned after the jury could not unanimously agree on a death sentence for shooter Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people.
Parkland school shooter trial: With jury deliberating, what comes next?
The jurors in the Parkland school shooting will be voting 17 times — once for each victim. They will decide whether Nikolas Cruz is sentenced to death or life without parole, but for them to recommend a death sentence, they must unanimously agree.
Parkland penalty trial: Jurors begin deliberations nearly three months after sentencing phase began
Nikolas Cruz pled guilty last year to the 2018 attack that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, and after a three-month-long trial and hearing all the evidence, it’s time for the jury to make their decision. Should Cruz be sentenced to death or life without parole?
Parkland shooter trial: Prosecutor makes final case for Nikolas Cruz to get the death penalty
The lead prosecutor of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz made his final push Tuesday to persuade jurors to sentence him to death, telling them during his closing argument that the Valentine's Day 2018 attack that killed 17 people was cold, calculated, meticulously planned and deserving of execution.
Parkland school shooter may have been his own worst witness in death penalty trial
It's possible Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz talked himself into a death sentence.
Parkland shooter trial: Nikolas Cruz contemplated school massacre for years
Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz told a prosecution psychiatrist he began contemplating a mass murder during middle school, doing extensive research on earlier killers to learn their methods and mistakes to shape his own plans, video played at his penalty trial showed Monday.
Parkland shooter trial: Judge refuses to step down after defense calls for her to be removed from case
The judge overseeing the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz refused to step down Monday, rejecting a motion by his attorneys who accused her of being biased against their client and prejudicing the jurors who will decide if he should die for murdering 17 people four years ago.
Parkland shooter's defense files motion to disqualify judge from trial after heated exchange in courtroom
Attorneys for Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz have filed a motion demanding for the judge in his murder case to be disqualified, claiming he will not get a fair trial. The move comes after Judge Elizabeth Scherer berated the defense in court for abruptly resting their case despite only calling 25 of their 80 witnesses — calling it "the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try a case."
South Florida sheriff accused of lying about killing someone when he was 14, state ethics commission says
The sheriff of Broward County, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, appears to have lied when he didn't disclose in his job application that he fatally shot another teenager when he was 14 and that he had used LSD, the state ethics commission has found. DeSantis appointed Sheriff Gregory Tony after firing Scott Israel in the aftermath of the Parkland school masscre.
Parkland shooter trial: Defense suddenly rests case, leading to shouting match with judge in courtroom
Attorneys for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz abruptly rested their case, triggering a shouting match with the judge after she called the move "the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try a case."
After school shootings, are states making classrooms safer?
Here is what several states have done to implement school safety in the wake of the Uvalde elementary school massacre.
Florida man left dead animals at Parkland school shooting memorial, sheriff says
A Florida man has been charged with leaving dead animals on three separate occasions at a memorial for the 17 victims of the Parkland school massacre, officials said Friday.
Gov. DeSantis suspends four Broward school board members for 'neglect of duty'
Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended four Broward School Board Members from office following the recommendations of the 20th Statewide Grand Jury to suspend these board members due to their incompetence, neglect of duty and misuse of authority.
Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz's disturbing jailhouse drawings show images of mass murder, Satanic messages
On one page, Nikolas Cruz scrawled the very issue at stake in his trial, where the jury will decide whether he will get the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison. He wrote: "I do not want life please help me go to death row!"
Parkland shooter trial: Defense details Nikolas Cruz's troubled past that left him 'damaged' prior to massacre
The lead attorney for confessed Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz told the jury in her opening statements on Monday that they have witnessed “things that will haunt them for the rest of their lives,” but they now need to learn what led him to massacre 17 people on Valentine's Day four years ago before they can decide whether to sentence him to death or life without parole.
Parkland shooter trial: Nikolas Cruz thinks he will get out of prison, defense mental health expert says
A defense mental health expert in the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz said he could pinpoint when he realized the 23-year-old mass murderer still has “irrational thoughts” — the two were making small talk when Cruz began describing plans for an eventual life outside prison.
Parkland school shooter trial: Prosecution rests after 3 weeks of graphic images, painful testimony
The prosecutor seeking to sentence Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz to death let the facts speak for themselves as he presented his case over the past three weeks, with terrifying witness accounts, heartbreaking testimonies from grieving parents, chilling surveillance videos, gruesome crime scene photos, and finally, having the jury walk through the school building where the shooting happened – dried pools of blood and Valentine's Day cards still clinging to the floors.
Jury in Parkland shooter trial gets rare look at bloodstained school building frozen in time
Jurors in the Parkland trial toured the school building where shooter Nikolas Cruz killed 17 students and staff members on Valentine's Day in 2018. Withered roses and an abandoned teddy bear lay in the hallway next to large pools of dried blood. Nothing had been changed, except for the removal of the victims' bodies, because it was considered a court exhibit.
Parkland penalty trial jurors to visit school building where shooter killed 17 people
Jurors in the penalty trial for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz are expected to walk through the still blood-spattered rooms at the Parkland high school where he murdered 14 students and three staff members.