Nikolas Cruz has avoided the death penalty. Here's what's next for him now - CNN

CNN  — 

Here’s what we know: Nikolas Cruz, the present 24-year-old who admitted to sidesplitting 17 people successful Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful February 2018, has avoided the decease penalty.

A assemblage connected Thursday recommended helium beryllium sentenced to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole, a determination which enraged galore of the victims’ families who said Cruz being allowed to unrecorded is not justness served.

“Life successful situation is NOT punishment! That is precisely what helium wanted,” Max Schachter, the begetter of 14-year-old Alex Schachter, who was murdered successful the massacre, wrote connected Twitter. He said the determination means Cruz volition apt beryllium protected portion successful custody, beryllium capable to “read, draw, person telephone calls & mail,” portion “his 17 victims suffered successful fear” earlier helium killed them.

These are the Parkland schoolhouse shooting victims

There is inactive overmuch we bash not astir what the remainder of Cruz’s beingness successful situation volition look like, astir of which volition apt beryllium sorted retired erstwhile helium is formally sentenced aboriginal adjacent month.

But present is what could travel next:

The jury’s proposal Thursday is conscionable that: a proposal and not an authoritative sentence. Since Thursday, jurors person travel guardant astir what they described were aggravated deliberations, and 1 juror reported feeling threatened; an allegation the section sheriff’s bureau is now investigating.

Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer is expected to formally condemnation Cruz November 1 astatine 9 a.m., but nether Florida law, the justice cannot depart from the jury’s proposal of beingness successful prison.

Victims and household members are expected to talk earlier the condemnation is delivered.

But arsenic acold arsenic the condemnation itself, the jury’s proposal is final, Broward County Public Defender Gordon Weekes said successful a Thursday quality conference, adding successful the state, “victims person a law close to beryllium heard astatine each signifier of the proceeding.”

“The tribunal is going to respect that close and springiness them an accidental to beryllium heard. And we admit that, and we admit that, and that should beryllium followed,” Weekes said. “However, we person to besides admit the jurors successful the lawsuit sat done a fig of days of very, precise difficult, traumatic evidence, and they heard it all, and they weighed it all, and they rendered a verdict. We person to respect that.”

Cruz besides has the close to marque a connection successful the sentencing if helium chooses to, according to Janet Johnson, a Florida transgression defence attorney.

Cruz, who has been successful jailhouse in Broward County since 2018, also has been sentenced to 25 years successful authorities situation aft helium pleaded blameworthy to attacking a jailhouse serviceman successful November of that year.

He volition apt stay successful region custody for a mates weeks aft his condemnation is handed down earlier helium is past placed successful the custody of Florida’s Department of Corrections and transported to 1 of respective reception centers successful the state.

On Thursday, Weekes said Cruz volition apt beryllium taken to the South Florida Reception Center.

He volition walk respective weeks astatine the reception halfway “getting carnal examinations, intelligence wellness examinations,” Johnson said. “They’ll look astatine his record, they’ll look astatine the level of transgression that he’s convicted of, which is evidently the highest, and they’ll urge a installation determination successful the state.”

The chosen installation is determined by “reviewing the seriousness of (the inmate’s) offenses, magnitude of sentence, clip remaining to serve, anterior transgression record, flight history, situation adjustment, and different factors,” according to the Florida Department of Corrections website.

“The astir superior offenders with the longest sentences and those slightest apt to set to organization beingness are placed successful much unafraid facilities,” the corrections section website noted. Based connected those evaluations, the idiosyncratic is past transferred to the installation deemed astir appropriate.

Because Cruz is simply a high-risk offender, helium volition apt beryllium placed successful a situation with different high-profile oregon “very unsafe criminals,” Johnson said.

“But helium wouldn’t beryllium isolated, which of course, is simply a existent menace for him due to the fact that determination whitethorn beryllium radical who privation to bash ‘prison justice,’ who didn’t consciousness that the condemnation helium got successful tribunal was enough,” Johnson added.

According to a corrections section handbook, determination are respective custody classifications of inmates, among them, adjacent custody for inmates who “must beryllium maintained wrong an equipped perimeter oregon nether direct, equipped supervision erstwhile extracurricular of a unafraid perimeter.”

The corrections section did not respond to CNN’s questions regarding what benignant of custody Cruz whitethorn beryllium placed under.

Lead defence lawyer Melisa McNeill besides hinted astir the dangers Cruz volition look successful situation during her closing arguments successful the decease punishment trial, saying helium volition “wait to die” successful a facility, “either by earthy causes oregon immoderate other could perchance hap to him portion he’s successful prison.”

And successful a quality league pursuing the jury’s recommendation, Linda Beigel Schulman, the parent of geography teacher Scott Beigel, who was killed successful the precocious school, said Cruz volition “have to look implicit his enarthrosis (in prison) each infinitesimal of the remainder of his life.”

“I anticipation helium has the fearfulness successful him, each 2nd of his life, conscionable the mode helium gave that fearfulness to each 1 of our loved ones, who helium murdered,” she said. “He should unrecorded successful that fear, and helium should beryllium acrophobic each 2nd of the time of his life.”

Parents of Parkland victims, including Schachter, person pointed to parts of beingness Cruz volition inactive get to acquisition portion successful situation their children were robbed of.

It includes receiving message and seeing visitors, which helium volition apt person the close to do, Johnson said. He could besides person a tablet done which helium volition beryllium capable to email and substance others, Johnson added.

The section of corrections website pointed retired inmates and their families are allowed to pass done “interactive, stationary kiosks disposable successful wide colonisation lodging units, arsenic good arsenic tablets.” Those services are disposable successful each the large correctional institutions successful Florida, according to the site.

“And you tin spot the statement (of the victims’) families saying, ‘We don’t get to bash that,’ ” Johnson added. “And it’s understandable.”

The corrections section besides did not reply CNN’s question astir what benignant of intelligence wellness attraction Cruz whitethorn person portion successful prison.

During the trial, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office released much than 30 pages of writings and drawings by Cruz which revealed disturbing thoughts he’s had portion successful custody, focusing connected guns, humor and death. On 1 page, Cruz wrote: “All I privation is to spell to decease row. I don’t privation life. Please assistance maine spell to decease row.” On another, helium addressed his family, telling them helium is bittersweet and is hoping to dice of a bosom onslaught by taking painkillers and done utmost eating.

Also portion successful jail, Cruz drew pictures of bullets, guns and radical being shot. He wrote helium “never wanted to beryllium alive,” and helium hopes helium dies and ne'er wakes up and “my beingness is painful, ever has ever will” be.

His defence squad argued Cruz is simply a “brain-damaged, mentally ill” idiosyncratic who, among different conditions, suffered from fetal intoxicant spectrum disorder, stemming from his mother’s substance and intoxicant maltreatment during pregnancy, McNeill said during closing arguments.

And Cruz appeared to power his behaviour successful the courtroom, McNeill said, due to the fact that “he’s medicated, and he’s nether psychiatric care. He’s being treated by the jailhouse psychologist.”

Cruz volition person a psychiatric introspection erstwhile helium arrives astatine the reception center, Johnson said, which volition assistance find his diagnosis and what medicine helium whitethorn require.