CNN –
Closing arguments began Tuesday morning in the Parkland school shooter’s sentencing trial — the last chance for prosecutors and defense attorneys to make their case to a jury that will help decide whether the gunman is sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
The impending conclusion of the months-long trial comes nearly a year after Nikolas Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, in which 14 students and three school staff members were killed.
“What he writes, what he says, is a window into someone’s soul,” lead prosecutor Michael Satz said at the start of his closing arguments, encouraging jurors to review the gunman’s online comments expressing their desire to carry out mass murder and searches. asked for information on how to do this.
“What he wanted to do, what his plan was and what he did, was to kill the children at the school and their caretakers,” Satz said. “This is what I wanted to do.”
Satz went on to detail a narrative of the shooting — how “tactical and deliberate” the gunman’s actions were — and how the shooter killed or wounded each of his victims, whose families and loved ones filled the gallery. room
Cruz, wearing a striped sweater and flanked by his public defenders, stared blankly at her, glancing occasionally at the table in front of him.
Each side has been allotted two and a half hours to present their closing arguments. Jury deliberations are expected to begin Wednesday, during which time jurors will be sequestered, according to Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer.
Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty, have argued that Cruz’s decision to carry out the deadliest mass shooting at an American high school was premeditated and calculated and not, as the defense has suggested, related to any mental disorder or developmental delay.
The state completed its rebuttal last week, which included footage of Cruz telling clinical neuropsychologist Dr. Robert Denney who decided to carry out the shooting on Valentine’s Day because “I felt like nobody loved me, and I didn’t like Valentine’s Day and I wanted to ruin it for everyone.”
Denney, who spent more than 400 hours with the gunman, testified for the prosecution that he concluded Cruz had borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder, but did not meet the criteria for a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, as the defense has claimed.
When he read the list of names of the 17 people killed and was asked if fetal alcohol spectrum disorder explained their murders, Denney answered “no” each time.
The defense, in seeking to present mitigating circumstances to the jury – reasons why Cruz should not be sentenced to death but to life in prison without the possibility of parole – has offered evidence of a lifetime of struggles at home and at school , including birth. to a woman who abused drugs and alcohol while pregnant with Cruz.
If they choose to recommend a death sentence, jurors must be unanimous, or Cruz will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole. If the jury recommends death, the final decision rests with Judge Scherer, who could choose to follow the recommendation or sentence Cruz to life in prison.
The 14 students killed were: Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14 years old; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Jaime Guttenberg, 14 years; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17 years old; Alaina Petty, 14; Abadejo del Prat, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alex Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; and Peter Wang, 14 years old.
Geography teacher Scott Beigel, 35; wrestling coach Chris Hixon, 49; and assistant football coach Aaron Feis, 37, were also killed, each while running toward danger or trying to help students to safety.
The lengthy trial – jury selection began six months ago, in early April – has seen prosecutors and defense lawyers present evidence of aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances, reasons why Cruz should or should not be killed.
The state has pointed to seven aggravating factors, including that the killings were especially heinous, heinous or cruel, as well as cold, calculated and premeditated, Satz said Tuesday. Other aggravating factors include the fact that the defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to many people and that he disrupted a lawful government function, in this case, the operation of a school.
Taken together, those aggravating factors “outweigh any mitigation about anything about the defendant’s background or character,” Satz said.
Underscoring their case, prosecutors presented evidence showing the gunman spent months searching online for information about mass shootings and left behind comments on social media sharing his express desire to “kill people.”
Some of his Google searches included broad, generic terms such as “murder” or “shooting people.” Others indicated that they were looking for information about specific mass shootings and the people who carried them out. He also searched for a map of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, from which he had been expelled, and information about “how long it takes for a police officer to show up at a school shooting.” And on YouTube, Cruz left comments like “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” and vowed to “go kill.”
As part of the prosecution’s case, family members of the victims were given the opportunity to take the stand and offer raw and emotional testimony about how Cruz’s actions had forever changed their lives. At one point, even members of Cruz’s own defense team were brought to tears.
“I feel like I can’t really be happy if I smile,” said Max Schachter, the father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter. “I know behind that smile is the clear realization that a part of me will always be sad and miserable because Alex isn’t here.”
But before the prosecution rested, jurors also visited the scene of the massacre, the 1200 block of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, which had been closed since the shooting to preserve the crime scene, littered with dried blood, ID cards Valentine’s Day and student belongings. trial
In his case, public defenders assigned to represent Cruz have asked the jury to consider his troubled history, from a dysfunctional family life to severe mental and developmental issues, with attorney Melisa McNeill saying the described earlier in the trial as “damaged”. and wounded”.
“His brain is broken,” he said during his opening statement in August. “He is a damaged human being.”
Among the first witnesses was Cruz’s older sister, Danielle Woodard, who testified that their mother, Brenda Woodard, used drugs and drank alcohol while pregnant with him, which McNeill said caused her to his brain would have been “irretrievably broken” through no fault of his own.
“She introduced me to a life that no child should be introduced to,” he said. “She had no regard for my life or hers.”
The defense also called teachers and educators who spoke about developmental issues and delays Cruz exhibited as a toddler, including challenges with vocabulary and motor skills. Several counselors and psychiatrists also testified, offering their observations from years of treatment or interaction with Cruz.
Former Broward County School District Trustee John Newnham testified that Cruz’s academic achievements in elementary school fell short of expectations. Cruz would describe himself as “stupid” and a “freak,” Newnham said.
Despite these apparent problems, Cruz’s adoptive mother, the late Lynda Cruz, was reluctant to seek help, according to the testimony of a close friend who lived down the street from the family, Trish Devaney Westerlind.
Newnham’s testimony echoed that: While Lynda Cruz was a loving mother, after her husband’s death, she sought help but did not use available support.
“I was overwhelmed,” Newnham said. “She seemed to lack some of the basics of positive parenting.”
Westerlind still takes calls from Cruz, and even though he’s 20, Cruz still talks like an 11-year-old.
Cruz’s attorneys acknowledged that as he grew up he developed a fascination with firearms, and school staff raised concerns about his behavior with authorities, McNeill said.
In June 2014, an adolescent psychiatrist and a school therapist at the school who attended Cruz at the time wrote a letter to an outside psychiatrist treating Cruz, expressing concern that Cruz had become verbally aggressive and had a “preoccupation with weapons” and “dreams.” of killing others.”
Psychiatrist Dr. Brett Negin, who testified that he treated Cruz between the ages of 13 and 18, said he never received the letter.
The defense’s case came to an unexpected end last month when, after calling only 26 of a planned 80 witnesses, the public defenders assigned to represent Cruz abruptly rested, prompting the judge to admonish the team for what he said was a lack of professionalism, and it led to a fight between the courts. she and the defense (the jury was not present).
Scherer asked Cruz about the decision to rest, making sure he had a chance to discuss it with his lawyers and understood that it didn’t mean anyone else, including his brother Zachary Cruz, would take the stand in.. .