Death penalty bid in HS slays
NIKOLAS CRUZ, accused of shooting 17 people to death at a Florida high school, will face the death penalty, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The 19-year-old allegedly stormed into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and methodically gunned down his former classmates and teachers on Feb. 14., a crime State Attorney Michael Satz said warrants capitol punishment.
Cruz (inset) is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on a 34-count indictment that includes 17 first-degree murder charges.
His public defender has argued that he suffers from serious mental illness, pledging that he will enter a guilty plea if prosecutors agree to not seek the death penalty.
The only other option on the table for Cruz is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Public defender Howard Finkelstein reiterated his promise Tuesday, saying that Cruz is “immediately ready” to plead guilty in exchange for 34 consecutive life sentences. “We are not saying he is not guilty but we can’t plead guilty while death is still on the table,” Finkelstein said.
Satz’s filing states that prosecutors will consider expert testimony on Cruz’s mental health as long as it is presented at least 20 days before trial.
Under Florida’s lax gun laws, Cruz was able to legally purchase the AR-15 assault rifle that he used to carry out the bloodshed.
The horrific Valentine’s Day massacre has prompted renewed calls for beefed-up gun control across the country.