On November 1, 2022, two years after the Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, he was given a life sentence in prison.
Cruz narrowly avoided being put to death by a jury of twelve, nine of whom decided to support him. In Florida, the death penalty can only be imposed by a unanimous vote.
Who is Nikolas Cruz?
As the Parkland shooter, Cruz was born on September 24, 1998.
Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to carry out a school shooting in 2018 that resulted in 17 fatalities and 17 injuries.
Since then, the incident has been listed among the bloodiest mass shootings in American history.
Cruz was a 19-year-old student at the school who had a history of behavioural and mental health issues at the time.
Cruz’s defence claimed during the trial that their client had severe mental illness and that the healthcare system had failed him.
The father of Parkland victim Alex Schachter, who was only 14 years old when he was killed, Max Schachter, claimed that the defense’s argument was weak.
“There’s so many people in this country who suffer mental illness,” he said in court, adding: “They’re not going out torturing and murdering innocent people.”
Cruz was later detained and accused with 17 premeditated murders and 17 attempted murders.
