Nikolas Cruz

Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz will be sentenced to life, not death. Victims' families are addressing the court, sharing how his actions effected them.

Stoneman Douglas teacher Stacey Lippel has a scar on her arm and the memory of the gunman aiming at her on Feb. "The victims have every right to express themselves," she said. Just a glance at the gunshot wound on her kneecap reminds her of the frenzied ambulance ride to the hospital, and the grim acceptance that she would die. He said the jurors who voted to spare the gunman's life were "selfish and misguided." "Because garbage to garbage." Jurors showed more compassion to the gunman than he did her son, Joaquin's mother said. She thought the devil didn't exist until death put him in front of her, Oliver said. McNeill asked Scherer to preclude the victims' families from threatening the defense team and their loved ones. She's afraid of tight spaces, reactive to loud noises and constantly transported "into a state of pure terror." "I bet that doesn't happen to most people." He derided the portrait that Cruz's defense team painted of a young man doomed by his biological mother's substance abuse. Many are expected to speak Tuesday and Wednesday before Scherer passes the sentence.

Parkland high school shooter Nikolas Cruz was berated Tuesday during the first day of his sentencing hearing by family members of the victims killed in the ...

We will not just survive, we will thrive and we will honor Chris and the other 16 beautiful people that you took from us with positive action and wonderful memories." Because garbage to garbage," Robinovitz continued. When you die, it is my fondest hope that they take you and burn you and take your ashes and throw them in the garbage dump," Robinovitz told Cruz, who was wearing red prison garb. "You know why? You’ll be sent to jail, you will be getting your punishment. ["Parkland murderer."

FORT LAUDERDALE - Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz's two-day sentencing hearing got underway Tuesday with the families of the 17 people he murdered and ...

"The reality is that I will still visit Jaime at the cemetery and the monsters fate will not change. The suspect in the 2019 massacre of 23 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, is awaiting trial. You'll be sent to jail, you'll begin your punishment, you'll be a number, and for me, you will cease to exist." Cruz wounded her 17-year-old son Joaquin in the leg and then tracked him into a bathroom alcove. There, Cruz fatally shot her son in the head as he raised his hand to protect himself. "We hope that you, the monster who did this to our son, endure a painful existence in your remaining days. "At that time, Parkland murderer, it is my hope that you go somewhere to meet your maker," Robinovitz said. "You were given a gift, a gift of grace and mercy — something you did not show to any of your victims," Debra Hixon told Cruz. "Because of you, I check for all exits wherever I am," Lippel said. Chris Hixon was wounded and fell to the floor, where Cruz shot him again. You stole him from us and you did not receive the justice you deserved. The killer wore a bright red jail jumpsuit and showed no emotion from behind a face mask.

Enraged relatives of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz's victims railed at the killer during his sentencing Tuesday.

We will not just survive, we will thrive and we will honor Chris and the other 16 beautiful people that you took from us with positive actions and wonderful memories.” Even more so now that he has escaped being punished to the fullest extent of the law as I believe he should have been, knowing that he gets to live out the rest of his natural life. “It is my hope that you go somewhere to meet your maker,” he told Cruz.

Families of the victims in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting gave anguished statements on the first day of a sentencing hearing.

"The victims have every right to express themselves," she said. McNeill asked Scherer to preclude the victims' families from threatening the defense team and their loved ones. Their deaths don't matter "because his life wasn't cupcakes, rainbows and sunshine," Petty said. His attitude toward the defense echoed that of family members who spoke before him. "I wish nothing for you today," she said to Cruz, who was masked and unblinking. Jurors showed more compassion to the gunman than he did her son, Joaquin's mother said. She's beyond feeling anger – all she has now is emptiness and grief, she said. If the worst mass shooter to go to trial doesn't deserve execution, who does? "Because garbage to garbage." "I hope your ever-breathing moment here on Earth is miserable," she said. And burn in hell." "You know why?"

The gunman who murdered 17 people in 2018 at a South Florida high school is expected to be sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of ...

[Three jurors were persuaded to vote for life](http://www.cnn.com/2022/10/16/us/nikolas-cruz-jury-life-recommendation-whats-next/index.html), sparing Cruz a death sentence, which in Florida a jury must unanimously recommend. [The defense, pushing for a life sentence](http://www.cnn.com/2022/10/14/us/nikolas-cruz-defense-life-prison/index.html), pointed to the shooter’s mental or intellectual deficits they said stemmed from prenatal alcohol exposure. [despite the continued American gun violence epidemic](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/25/us/st-louis-school-shooting-victims/index.html) remains [the deadliest mass shooting at a US high school](https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/19/us/mass-shootings-fast-facts/index.html;). “And burn in hell.” [a jury declined to recommend a death sentence](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/us/nikolas-cruz-jury-deliberation-thursday/index.html). [ including some who confronted Cruz ](https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/01/us/nikolas-cruz-parkland-victim-testimony-sentencing/index.html)Tuesday in court.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Parents, wives, children and siblings of the 17 people murdered by Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz finally got their ...

FORT LAUDERDALE - More families of those who died in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and those who survived the attack, ...

The suspect in the 2019 massacre of 23 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, is awaiting trial. He is not a victim of mental health issues. The murderer is not a victim of drinking during pregnancy. is a dramatic change for anyone," he said. The two have had a testy and sometimes hostile relationship since pretrial hearings. Anthony Montalto III, whose older sister, 14-year-old Gina, was murdered by a bullet fired point-blank into her chest, said he was at the neighboring middle school and heard the gunshots. "To add insult to murder he was even arrogant enough to plan a disguise believing that he'd be able to escape his actions while my sister lay dying on a dirty classroom floor." She took no action against the families. He was arrested an hour later. "How could you sit there listening and say this is not the worst of the worst? Even sicker to dwell on the desire and craft a plan and unimaginably evil to execute that plan, which didn't just hurt people but ended lives," she said. He had been

Parents, wives, children and siblings of the 17 people murdered by Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz finally got their chance after almost five years to ...