Parkland prosecutors ask for an investigation after a juror says she was threatened by 'a fellow juror' during deliberations - CNN

CNN  — 

Prosecutors successful the Parkland schoolhouse massacre lawsuit are calling for instrumentality enforcement to interrogation a juror who said she felt threatened by different juror during deliberations implicit Nikolas Cruz’s punishment for the 2018 South Florida killings, a tribunal filing reads.

The petition comes aft a assemblage Thursday prevented the decease punishment for Cruz by recommending life successful situation without parole.

The state’s caller question asks Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer to compel instrumentality enforcement officers to interrogation the juror who reported feeling threatened. It does not place the juror and does not bespeak which condemnation the juror supported.

The juror called prosecutors Thursday aft the jurors’ findings were work successful court, according to the tribunal filing obtained by CNN.

“Juror X spoke to a enactment unit subordinate and informed the enactment unit subordinate that during deliberations she received what she perceived to beryllium a menace from a chap juror portion successful the assemblage room,” the filing says. “The State did not telephone Juror X backmost and instead, filed a Notice to the Court.”

It is not wide whether Scherer volition comply with that prosecution request. A proceeding for the state’s question is acceptable for 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to the county’s tribunal docket.

The question is the latest denotation of behind-the-scenes hostility among the jury, successful an emotionally charged sentencing trial, the result of which was met with visible disappointment from victims’ families. Thursday, a juror wrote a missive to the justice calling the deliberations “tense,” saying immoderate jurors became “extremely unhappy” erstwhile she mentioned she’d ballot for beingness successful prison. And successful an interview, the assemblage foreman described disagreement among the jury, saying 3 of the 12 jurors opposed the decease punishment successful this case.

It is not wide whether the juror who reported the perceived menace is the aforesaid juror who wrote the missive to the judge.

The jury’s determination Thursday punctuated a monthslong sentencing proceedings for Cruz, who admitted to sidesplitting 14 students and 3 schoolhouse unit members and injuring 17 others successful the Valentine’s Day 2018 shooting astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful Parkland, Florida.

As the jury’s sentencing recommendation was work aloud successful tribunal Thursday, jurors stared consecutive up oregon gazed into their laps.

Jurors didn’t look successful the absorption of visibly affectional victims’ families, galore of whom hoped the shooter would person the decease penalty. Many victims’ relatives successful attendance aboriginal expressed outrage and disappointment implicit the decision.

To urge death, the assemblage would person needed to unanimously hold that aggravating factors – reasons the prosecution said helium should beryllium enactment to decease – outweighed mitigating circumstances, oregon aspects of Cruz’s beingness and upbringing the defence said warranted lone beingness successful prison.

The assemblage did not unanimously hold connected this, meaning Cruz indispensable beryllium sentenced to beingness successful situation without anticipation of parole.

The justice is expected to contented the gunman’s ceremonial condemnation connected November 1 and by instrumentality is incapable to deviate from the jury’s proposal of life.

Cruz pleaded blameworthy past twelvemonth to 17 counts of execution and 17 counts of attempted murder. Because Cruz pleaded blameworthy to each counts, the proceedings signifier was skipped and the tribunal went straight to the sentencing phase.

The deliberations became “tense,” a juror wrote successful the handwritten missive addressed to Scherer. The juror, who voted against the decease punishment for Cruz, wrote to the justice that “some jurors became highly unhappy erstwhile I mentioned that I would ballot for life.”

In the letter, the juror besides denied allegations that she made up her caput to ballot for beingness successful situation earlier the proceedings began, saying she heard different jurors had made specified accusations astir her.

Of the 12 jurors, 3 voted against recommending the decease sentence, assemblage foreman Benjamin Thomas told CNN affiliate WFOR, adding, “I don’t similar however it turned out, but … that’s however the assemblage strategy works.”

“There was 1 with a hard ‘no’ – she couldn’t bash it. And determination was different 2 that ended up voting the aforesaid way,” Thomas said. The pistillate who was a hard nary “didn’t believe, due to the fact that helium was mentally ill, helium should get the decease penalty,” Thomas said.

Several household members of Cruz’s victims decried the jury’s determination arsenic a cruel denial of the devastation that they person been forced to unrecorded with.

When making their decision, jurors weighed the aggravating factors presented by prosecutors against mitigating circumstances laid retired by Cruz’s defence team, who argued that aspects of his commencement and upbringing warranted a lesser punishment. Cruz’s attorneys painted the shooter arsenic a severely “broken” idiosyncratic who suffers from a fig of intelligence and developmental issues that were not adequately treated erstwhile helium was increasing up.

Prosecutors successful crook argued that immoderate mitigating factors were overshadowed by what they described arsenic Cruz’s exceptionally cruel and heinous acts. They presented elaborate grounds to enactment their claims that Cruz cautiously planned and premeditated the attack. The prosecution rested their lawsuit aft jurors were taken to circuit the still blood-stained schoolhouse building wherever the massacre occurred.

Victims’ loved ones were overwhelmed with rage and disbelief aft proceeding the verdict and galore denounced the determination arsenic inadequate punishment fixed the bonzer losses they person suffered.

The 14 slain students were: Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alex Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; and Peter Wang, 14.

Geography teacher Scott Beigel, 35; wrestling manager Chris Hixon, 49; and adjunct shot manager Aaron Feis, 37, were besides killed – each portion moving toward information oregon trying to assistance students to safety.

Hixon’s widow, Debra Hixon, told CNN Thursday that erstwhile she realized the slayer wouldn’t person the decease penalty, she felt similar she had been punched successful the chest.

“What hurts the astir is that determination is simply a content that immoderate mitigating circumstances could outweigh what helium did to our loved ones,” Hixon said, adding, “Because the mode it comes retired is that his beingness has much worth than those that were murdered.”

Public defender Gordon Weekes urged the assemblage to respect the jury’s decision.

“This time is not a time of celebration, but a time of solemn acknowledgment, and a solemn accidental to bespeak connected the healing that is indispensable for this community,” helium told reporters.

But respective families were insistent that the jury’s determination does not present them peace. Alyssa’s parents said they were “disgusted” by the verdict.

“I’m disgusted with the system, that you tin let 17 dormant and 17 others changeable and wounded, and not get the decease penalty,” Ilan Alhadeff said. “What bash we person the decease punishment for?”

The parent of Helena Ramsay, a 17-year-old senior, besides denounced the jury’s recommendation.

“After spending months and months listening, and proceeding testimonies, and looking astatine the murderer – his composure – I judge justness was not done,” Anne Ramsay said. “The incorrect verdict was fixed retired today.”

Many loved ones besides continued their plea for weapon argumentation betterment to forestall the increasing world of weapon unit successful American schools, including Gina Montalto’s father.

“While this condemnation fails to punish the perpetrator to the fullest grade of the instrumentality – it volition not halt our ngo to effect affirmative alteration astatine a federal, authorities and section level to forestall schoolhouse shooting tragedies from shattering different American families,” Tony Montalto said.

Like Montalto, Hixon is determined not to fto the jury’s determination overshadow her loved one’s memory, telling CNN that she has last words for the shooter who killed her husband.

“I conscionable privation him to cognize that I’m not going to springiness him the restitution of watching maine suffer,” she said. “I’m going to prime myself up. We’re going to grant Chris each time successful affirmative ways. And we’re going to unopen the doorway connected this and we’re ne'er going to deliberation astir (t helium killer) again.”