Jury verdict on Parkland shooting: life in prison

The 12 jurors in the trial of Nikolas Cruz, the confessed killer in the Parkland school shooting, announced Thursday that they are recommending a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The Broward County, Fla. jury did not recommend the death penalty for Cruz's atrocities in the 2018 massacre.

Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty last year to the murders of 14 students and three staff members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School of Parkland, Fla. on February 14, 2018. According to his testimony, he chose to commit the violent acts on Valentine's Day so that the school would no longer celebrate the holiday. The defendant was 19 years old at the time.

The killer fired numerous rounds from an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle through the hallways and into the classrooms of the school for nearly 10 minutes. He even retraced his steps to execute the wounded lying on the floor. Cruz said he purchased the rifle a year before the shooting and began seriously planning the attack about seven months in advance. He also faces 17 other counts of attempted murder.

Mental problems

Cruz's defense aimed to show the defendant's mental problems in the trial. Dr. Paul Connor, a neurologist who examined Cruz in jail, attributed these problems to his mother's addiction. She was consuming alcohol while pregnant with Cruz, which can cause mental defects known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

During the trial, Cruz's defense argued that his actions were a product of these alleged mental problems, attempting to avoid the death penalty. In the view of the jury, Cruz deserves life in prison rather than capital punishment.