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"I could not beryllium much disappointed," dada Fred Guttenberg said aft court.
Last Updated: October 13, 2022, 1:49 PM ET
Parkland schoolhouse shooter Nikolas Cruz has been spared the decease punishment and sentenced to beingness successful situation by a Florida assemblage for carrying retired the massacre astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that claimed 17 lives.
Cruz pleaded blameworthy past twelvemonth to 17 counts of first-degree execution and 17 counts of attempted first-degree execution successful transportation to the Feb. 14, 2018, sidesplitting of 14 students and 3 unit members astatine his erstwhile school. Among the victims were 15-year-old Peter Wang, an Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet who died portion helping classmates escape, and 35-year-old Scott Beigel, a geography teacher who was changeable dormant portion shepherding students to information successful his classroom.
This punishment signifier trial was to find if Cruz would beryllium sentenced to decease oregon beingness successful situation for the massacre helium committed astatine property 19.
Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was among the victims, expressed his choler with the jury’s determination via Twitter.
“Mass murderers: you get to unrecorded your earthy life, you get your 3 blistery meals a day, you get to ablution each day, get aesculapian attention, hey, adjacent a hobby oregon a caller education. What a large connection is this sending,” helium wrote.
His wife, Patricia Oliver, told reporters, “It should person been wide arsenic time … if not present the decease penalty, past when?”
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was killed successful the massacre, said aft court, "I'm not often stunned, but I americium stunned by this verdict today."
"I could not beryllium much disappointed," helium said.
“I don't cognize however this assemblage came to the conclusions that they did," helium said.
“This determination contiguous lone makes it much apt that the adjacent wide shooting volition beryllium attempted,” helium said.
Guttenberg said helium thinks the adjacent wide shooter is readying his onslaught now, and "that idiosyncratic present believes that they tin get distant with it."
“There are 17 victims that did not person justness today,” Guttenberg said. “This assemblage failed our families today. But I volition archer you: The monster is gonna spell to prison, and successful prison, I anticipation and pray, helium receives the benignant of mercy from prisoners that helium showed to my girl and the 16 others. … He volition dice successful prison, and I volition beryllium waiting to work that quality connected that.”
Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter, Gina, was killed, called the jury’s determination a “gut punch.”
“Pressing the tube of his limb to my daughter's chest. That doesn't outweigh [that Nikolas Cruz] had a pugnacious upbringing?” Montalto said.
“Society has to truly look and reexamine who and what is simply a victim. Not everyone's a victim. My beauteous Gina. the different sons, daughters, spouses and fathers -- they were the victims here. Our justness strategy should person been utilized to punish this shooter to the fullest grade of the law,” helium said. “Not arsenic an enactment of revenge, but to support our nation's schools.”
“I deliberation that it puts each schoolhouse children successful jeopardy. It surely sends the incorrect message,” helium continued. “This shooter did not merit compassion.”
Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old lad Alex was killed, tweeted that Nikolas Cruz “got everything helium wanted” with the beingness condemnation verdict.
"Prior to the shooting the Parkland murderer said helium wanted to termination 20 people. He stopped aft sidesplitting 17 including my saccharine small lad Alex. Afterwards helium didn’t privation to die,” Schachter tweeted.
Meanwhile, “Our loved ones are successful the cemetery.”
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