Sentencing trial begins for mass murderer Nikolas Cruz – Law Officer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The trial against Parkland killer Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who has acknowledged murdering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, is set to begin on Monday.

Cruz, 23, previously pleaded guilty. The strategy was reportedly to avoid exposing the jury to so many gruesome details with the aspiration of avoiding the death penalty.

However, prosecutors never took capital punishment off the table when Cruz pleaded guilty, something that was sought by his attorneys. So now jurors will decide whether he’ll be given the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, the New York Post reported.

It took nearly three months to select the 12-person jury in Fort Lauderdale to determine the fate of the mass killer. Only one juror needs to oppose the death penalty for Cruz to receive the lesser sentence of life behind bars.