Why the Parkland gunman was spared the death penalty

It was the deadliest wide shooting to scope a assemblage proceedings successful the US, and connected a time that was already precocious successful emotion, galore families near the tribunal successful Florida connected Thursday confused and successful tears.

"We are conscionable shocked by this effect and it is truthful unjust," Lynn Chen, a relative of Parkland unfortunate Peter Wang, said. "How tin helium unrecorded different day?"

The jury's determination to urge beingness successful situation and not the decease punishment for Nikolas Cruz - who changeable dormant 17 radical astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful 2018 - sparked an affectional outcry from the victims' relatives who had gathered successful the court.

"This carnal is inactive going to person beingness successful situation without parole," 1 mother, Linda Schulman, said. "I anticipation helium has the fearfulness successful him each 2nd of his life. Why bash we person the decease punishment astatine all?"

Three of the 12 jurors voted to spare the gunman pursuing the sentencing trial. Under Florida law, a unanimous determination is needed successful bid for idiosyncratic to beryllium enactment to death.

If a azygous juror disagrees, past the suspect is sentenced to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole. This is what the 24-year-old Parkland gunman present faces.

Jury foreman Benjamin Thomas told CBS Miami that helium did not ballot for the beingness condemnation and is "not blessed with however [the sentencing] worked out".

"It truly came down to a circumstantial juror who believed [the gunman] was mentally ill," helium said. "She didn't judge that due to the fact that he's mentally sick helium should get the decease penalty."

"There was 1 [juror] with a hard nary - she couldn't bash it," helium said. "And determination was different 2 that ended up voting the aforesaid way."

The assemblage - which consisted of 7 men and 5 women - did find determination were aggravating factors which warranted the usage of the decease penalty.

Under Florida law, determination are 16 aggravating factors which tin beryllium utilized to warrant imposing a decease sentence. For example, the murders indispensable beryllium deemed peculiarly cruel oregon beryllium committed successful a cold, premeditated manner. At slightest 1 of these factors indispensable beryllium proved beyond tenable uncertainty for a suspect to beryllium executed.

During the people of the three-month sentencing trial, prosecutors sought to person the assemblage that aggravating factors intelligibly applied successful this case. "It was calculated. It was purposeful. And it was a systematic massacre," pb authoritative Michael Satz said during his closing argument.

"The suspect had a plan, helium discussed it, and helium carried it out," helium added.

But the 3 jurors who voted not to enforce the decease punishment did truthful due to the fact that of mitigating circumstances that had been consistently argued by the defence. They concluded that these outweighed the aggravating factors offered by the prosecution.

The astir salient mitigating origin - and 1 explored successful item by defence lawyers during the proceedings - was that the gunman's mother's dense intoxicant depletion and smoking during gestation had near him with foetal intoxicant spectrum disorder, which they said drove his convulsive behaviour.

The pb defence lawyer, Melisa McNeill, told the court: "He was doomed successful the womb. And successful a civilised society, bash we termination encephalon damaged, mentally ill, breached people?"

Mr Satz pushed backmost connected this successful the trial's second stages arsenic it became a absorption of the proceedings. "Whether oregon not his parent smoked during gestation did not crook [him] into a wide murderer," helium said.

But yet the jury, aft sifting done harrowing grounds and deliberating for 7 hours, could not scope the indispensable unanimous verdict connected the decease penalty.

"That's however the assemblage strategy works. Some of the jurors conscionable felt that was the due sentence," Mr Thomas, the assemblage foreman, said. "It's a motivation decision. Everybody has a close to their opinion."