Parkland school shooter sentenced to life in prison without parole after emotional victims’ statements - NBC News

Following melodramatic statements from victims and victims' families, a Florida justice connected Wednesday formally sentenced Parkland schoolhouse shooter Nikolas Cruz to beingness successful situation without parole for the 2018 field massacre that killed 14 students and 3 unit members.

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer followed the jury’s proposal to spare the 24-year-old the decease penalty, alternatively sentencing him to a beingness down bars. Last month, successful a 9-3 vote, a assemblage leaned toward sending Cruz to decease row, but Florida law dictates that thing little than a unanimous ballot automatically shifts the condemnation to beingness without parole.

A household hugs during the proceedings of Nikolas Cruz successful Fort Lauderdale, Fla. connected Oct. 13, 2022.Amy Beth Bennett / Pool/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP file

Prosecutors had sought the decease penalty, portion the defence had asked for beingness successful prison. The jury’s determination connected Oct. 13 shook household members of victims who were visibly distraught by the verdict.

On Wednesday, Scherer told victims and their loved ones she admired their spot earlier sentencing Cruz connected 34 full counts of execution oregon attempted murder.

"Thank you household members for the privilege of learning astir each and each 1 of your loved ones. I tin archer you they volition not beryllium forgotten," Scherer said. "If I could instrumentality the symptom distant oregon transportation it for you for conscionable 5 minutes truthful that you could respire ... I would."

As Scherer work her sentencing connected each 1 of the 34 counts, astir of the victims oregon their household members were stoic, portion immoderate shed tears. Cruz remained expressionless.

During the the three-month punishment trial, the defence argued that Cruz is mentally sick and his information led him to the 2018 Valentine’s Day rampage successful which helium wielded a semi-automatic firearm astatine his erstwhile school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 

Cruz pleaded blameworthy successful October 2021 to 17 counts of murder.

Ilan Alhadeff, begetter of Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, who was killed successful the shooting, said Wednesday during his unfortunate interaction statement, Cruz’s inevitable beingness condemnation brings him small satisfaction. He deserved death, Alhadeff said.

“Let maine amusement however aggravated and frustrated I americium with the judicial system. After 4 ½ grueling years, a failed judicial strategy did not manus down a decease condemnation to the murderer of my girl and 16 others,” helium said. “Do I spot this arsenic accountability? Absolutely not. Do we present person closure? Let maine beryllium clear, perfectly not. What I spot is that the strategy values this animal’s beingness implicit the 17 present dead. Worse, we sent a connection to the adjacent slayer retired determination that the decease punishment would not beryllium applied to wide killing. This is incorrect and needs to beryllium fixed immediately.”

Sam Fuentes was changeable successful the limb and struck successful the look with shrapnel during the massacre. She said Wednesday successful tribunal she watched Cruz termination 2 of her friends.

“You changeable maine successful the leg. If you looked maine successful the face, similar I’m looking astatine you close now, you would spot the scars connected it from the blistery shrapnel that was lodged into it. Do you retrieve aft you sprayed my schoolroom with bullets, lasting successful the door, peering successful to spot the enactment you’ve done? Do you retrieve my small battered, bloody look looking backmost astatine you? I could person sworn we locked eyes,” she said.

“I’ll person to unrecorded with the aftermath of this for the remainder of my life. I’ll ever person PTSD, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideations.”

Fuentes continued: “You gave maine and galore others a beingness of trauma, symptom and suffering, agelong aft you committed this transgression and for what? You’re cipher now. You’re not special. You person nary powerfulness anymore. You’ll measurement distant from this and you’ll person the astir unremarkable, pathetic existence, 1 that I lone commune that you suffer.”

Cruz wore a disguise for the archetypal portion of the hearing, until Jennifer Guttenberg, the parent of unfortunate Jaime Guttenberg, admonished the shooter during her unfortunate interaction statement.

“You shouldn’t beryllium sitting determination with a disguise connected your face. It’s disrespectful to beryllium hiding your expressions nether your disguise erstwhile we arsenic the families are sitting present talking to you,” she told him.

Cruz was not wearing a disguise the adjacent clip the camera panned to his face, though it’s unclear who removed it.

Victoria Gonzalez spoke successful tribunal Wednesday astir the decease of her fellow Joaquin Oliver, 17, who was fatally changeable by the gunman.

Gonzalez said aft the wide shooting, she not lone mislaid her champion friend, but her quality to love. She present is lonely and struggles to physique existent friendships due to the fact that she's ever looking implicit her shoulders.

Gonzalez wore Oliver's garment erstwhile she addressed Cruz and told him helium astir blew his caput off.

"I privation that you met Joaquin due to the fact that helium would person been your friend," Gonzalez said. "He would person extended a manus to you. He would person loved you."

She added, "I'm atrocious that you ne'er saw the emotion the satellite is susceptible of giving."

Linda Beigel Schulman, parent of Scott Beigel, who taught geography astatine the schoolhouse and coached transverse country, said her lad saved students' lives earlier the gunman took his.

Beigel Schulman said Wednesday that Cruz has "prison justice" up of him.

"You volition walk the remainder of your miserable beingness having to look implicit your enarthrosis disquieted astir each azygous infinitesimal of your day, of your life, and frightened retired of your mind, fearful for idiosyncratic to instrumentality you out."

On Tuesday, different survivors of the shooting and victims’ loved ones had the accidental to present interaction statements earlier the condemnation was formally announced.

Stacey Lippel, a teacher astatine Parkland who was changeable and survived, told Cruz: “You don’t cognize maine but you tried to termination me.”

“I volition person a scar connected my limb and the representation of you pointing your weapon astatine maine ingrained successful my encephalon forever,” she said earlier the court, looking Cruz successful the eyes.

She said she’s near with feelings of fearfulness and guilt.

“Horror astatine the memories of what you near down successful your aftermath and the guilt that I americium near with due to the fact that I privation I could’ve done much to prevention my co-workers and students who you killed,” she said.

Debbi Hixon, the widow of Chris Hixon, a teacher who ran into the schoolhouse to effort to halt the shooter, told the gunman: “I anticipation that your sanction and beingness are erased from society.”

The parents of Ben Wikander, a pupil who survived being changeable successful the back, abdomen and arm, spoke of his agonizing symptom and agelong roadworthy to betterment — saying helium inactive has a ways to go.

“Whatever symptom you acquisition successful situation volition unluckily beryllium a fraction of what Ben endured,” his father, Eric Wikander, said.

Max Schachter, the begetter of Parkland unfortunate Alex Schachter, 14, argued that Cruz had received a spate of intelligence wellness assistance and called retired the defence lawyers for claiming that helium had fallen done the cracks. 

“There’s truthful galore radical successful this state who endure intelligence illness," helium said. "They’re not going retired torturing and murdering guiltless people."