Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 2018 Parkland school massacre

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Nikolas Cruz pleaded blameworthy to execution connected Wednesday successful the 2018 precocious schoolhouse massacre successful Parkland, Florida, that near 17 dead.

Cruz, 23, entered his pleas successful a courtroom attended by a twelve relatives of victims aft answering a agelong database of questions from Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer aimed astatine confirming his intelligence competency. He was charged with 17 counts of execution and 17 counts of attempted first-degree execution for those wounded successful the Feb. 14, 2018, onslaught astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful Parkland, located conscionable extracurricular Fort Lauderdale.

A punishment proceedings volition find if Cruz volition person a condemnation of decease oregon beingness successful situation without parole. Scherer plans to statesman screening jurors adjacent period successful hopes grounds tin statesman successful January.

His attorneys announced his volition to plead blameworthy during a proceeding past week.

Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old girl Jaime died successful the shooting, said helium visited her sedate this week to inquire her for the spot to get done Wednesday’s hearing.

“She was the toughest, wisest idiosyncratic I ever knew,” helium said. “My girl ever fought for what was right. My girl despised bullies and would enactment herself successful the mediate of idiosyncratic being bullied to marque it stop.”

The blameworthy pleas volition acceptable the signifier for a punishment proceedings successful which 12 jurors volition find whether Cruz should beryllium sentenced to decease oregon beingness successful situation without parole. Given the case’s notoriety, Scherer plans to surface thousands of prospective jurors. Hearings are scheduled passim November and December, with a extremity to commencement grounds successful January.

Cruz killed the 14 students and 3 unit members connected Valentine’s Day 2018 during a seven-minute rampage done a three-story gathering astatine Stoneman Douglas, investigators said. They said helium changeable victims successful the hallways and successful classrooms with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. Cruz had been expelled from Stoneman Douglas a twelvemonth earlier aft a past of threatening, frightening, antithetic and sometimes convulsive behaviour that dated backmost to preschool.

The shootings caused immoderate Stoneman Douglas students to motorboat the March for Our Lives movement, which pushes for stronger weapon restrictions nationally.

Since days aft the shooting, Cruz’s attorneys had offered to person him plead blameworthy successful speech for a beingness sentence, saying that would spare the assemblage the affectional turmoil of reliving the onslaught astatine trial. But longtime Broward State Attorney Mike Satz rejected the offer, saying Cruz deserved a decease sentence, and appointed himself pb prosecutor. Satz, 79, stepped down arsenic authorities lawyer successful January aft 44 years, but remains Cruz’s main prosecutor.

His successor, Harold Pryor, is opposed to the decease punishment but has said helium volition travel the law. Like Satz, helium ne'er accepted the defence connection — arsenic an elected official, that would person been difficult, adjacent successful wide Broward County, wherever Democrats outnumber Republicans by much than 2 to 1.

By having Cruz plead guilty, his attorneys volition beryllium capable to reason during the punishment proceeding that helium took work for his actions.

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Associated Press newsman Will Weissert successful Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.