One of the jurors who voted for life in the Parkland trial sent a letter to the judge denying accusations by other jurors that she made the decision before trial.
In a letter to Broward Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Scherrer, the jury noted that another member of the 12-member jury, after listening to others who had voted for the death penalty, said, “Before the trial began, I said he had decided to vote for life imprisonment.”
“This claim is untrue and I have sworn to the court that it is fair and impartial,” she wrote. was very frustrated and just wanted to let you know.”
Read the following: Parkland Shooter Jury Recommended Life. What are people saying about it?
thursday jury refused the death penalty Instead, it recommended that Parkland school shooter Nicholas Cruz be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.This was a decision that angered the victim’s family. Cruz plead guilty last year killed 17 people The 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Broward County. It’s the worst school shooting in Florida history.
3 out of 12 judges voted for life, one of whom was “absolutely against” the death penalty because of Cruz’s mental illness, foreman Benjamin Thomas told CBS Miami, news partner of the Miami Herald. As the Miami Herald reports, every other state in the United States, except Florida and Alabama, requires a unanimous verdict to sentence someone to death.
Cruz’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 1.
READ MORE: What happens to Florida’s death penalty after Parkland shooter gets life sentence?