Pre-trial hearings continued in the Broward County death penalty case of the Parkland school shooter.
At issue during the hearing on Thursday were about 450 photographs and videos in evidence that Nikolas Cruz’s defense attorneys do not want the jury to see.
The defense was concerned that the evidence will arouse the emotions of the jury and interfere with their ability to reach an impartial verdict.
“They didn’t need the photographs to describe the cause of death,” Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill said in court adding, “Some of these photographs are of the same injuries.”
Assistant State Attorney Carolyn McCann said the prosecution will be displaying 11 images related to just one of the victims of the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Cruz shot 34 victims — 17 died.
“These victims were shot by an AR-15 by this defendant and there are multiple wounds,” McCann said.
McCann said the judge’s broad ruling before the trial begins is premature without context. Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer agreed with the prosecution.
“I will not rule today; I will rule when state enters into evidence and consider relevance,” Scherer said.
Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in October and his trial in Fort Lauderdale is set to begin on July 18.
The court is in recess until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday
Related story: Judge delays trial of ex-deputy charged for inaction during Parkland school shooting
6 p.m. report
The pre-trial hearings continued in the death penalty case of Nikolas Cruz, who pleaded guilty to the murders on Feb. 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The 12 jurors
Juror 1 is a man who works as an information technology analyst for a city in Miami-Dade County. He said he owns one handgun. He also said his brother is a police officer and his mother is a licensed mental health counselor.
Juror 2 is a man who works as a financial sector executive. He moved to Florida from Boston about a year ago, and he has about two decades of experience in his field. He served in the French military and doesn’t own a handgun.
Juror 3 is a man who works as a probation officer. He also has experience as a paralegal executive assistant for a personal injury firm. He doesn’t own a handgun.
Juror 4 is a man who works as a stocking supervisor for Walmart. He said his cousin was in a class with Cruz before the shooting. He said his uncle is a psychologist.
Juror 5 is a man who works as a computer technician in Miami-Dade County. He said he has more than 10 years of experience in his field and has serviced law firms. He is a father of three.
Juror 6 is a woman who works as a medical claims adjuster in Miami-Dade County. She has also worked in banking and in the office of a criminal defense attorney.
Juror 7 is a woman who has worked as a librarian for about four years. She has also worked in purchasing for the city of Coconut Creek, in a church, and in banking as a consumer lender. She said she has benefited from mental health counseling in the past.
Juror 8 is a woman who works in human resources and has about two decades of experience. She said she worked as an X-ray technician when she lived in Michigan and was in college. She moved to Broward County in 2019. She is a board member of Mental Health America of Southeast Florida, a non-profit organization. She owns a handgun.
Juror 9 is a woman who works as a legal assistant and has experience with prosecutors. She said she has considered going to law school. She said she has benefited from mental health counseling.
Juror 10 is a man who has worked as an immigration officer since 2018. He said he served in the U.S. military from 2013 to 2016 and then took time off to do “hippie stuff.”
“I have done a dozen qualification events but, outside the range, I haven’t used weapons,” he said in court during attorneys’ one-on-one interviews.
Juror 11 is a man who works for a family business involving exports. He said he earned a college degree in music and worked as a project manager until the pandemic disrupted the industry.
Juror 12 is a woman who works as a senior compliance investigator for a medical device firm. She said she has worked in finance and accounting. Her father was a police chief. is a man who works as a stocking supervisor for Walmart. He said his cousin was in a class with Cruz before the shooting. He said his uncle is a psychologist.
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At issue during the hearing on Thursday were about 450 photographs and videos in evidence that Nikolas Cruz’s defense attorneys do not want the jury to see.
The defense was concerned that the evidence will arouse the emotions of the jury and interfere with their ability to reach an impartial verdict.
“They didn’t need the photographs to describe the cause of death,” Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill said in court adding, “Some of these photographs are of the same injuries.”
Assistant State Attorney Carolyn McCann said the prosecution will be displaying 11 images related to just one of the victims of the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Cruz shot 34 victims — 17 died.
“These victims were shot by an AR-15 by this defendant and there are multiple wounds,” McCann said.
McCann said the judge’s broad ruling before the trial begins is premature without context. Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer agreed with the prosecution.
“I will not rule today; I will rule when state enters into evidence and consider relevance,” Scherer said.
Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in October and his trial in Fort Lauderdale is set to begin on July 18.
The court is in recess until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday
Related story: Judge delays trial of ex-deputy charged for inaction during Parkland school shooting
6 p.m. report
The pre-trial hearings continued in the death penalty case of Nikolas Cruz, who pleaded guilty to the murders on Feb. 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The 12 jurors
Juror 1 is a man who works as an information technology analyst for a city in Miami-Dade County. He said he owns one handgun. He also said his brother is a police officer and his mother is a licensed mental health counselor.
Juror 2 is a man who works as a financial sector executive. He moved to Florida from Boston about a year ago, and he has about two decades of experience in his field. He served in the French military and doesn’t own a handgun.
Juror 3 is a man who works as a probation officer. He also has experience as a paralegal executive assistant for a personal injury firm. He doesn’t own a handgun.
Juror 4 is a man who works as a stocking supervisor for Walmart. He said his cousin was in a class with Cruz before the shooting. He said his uncle is a psychologist.
Juror 5 is a man who works as a computer technician in Miami-Dade County. He said he has more than 10 years of experience in his field and has serviced law firms. He is a father of three.
Juror 6 is a woman who works as a medical claims adjuster in Miami-Dade County. She has also worked in banking and in the office of a criminal defense attorney.
Juror 7 is a woman who has worked as a librarian for about four years. She has also worked in purchasing for the city of Coconut Creek, in a church, and in banking as a consumer lender. She said she has benefited from mental health counseling in the past.
Juror 8 is a woman who works in human resources and has about two decades of experience. She said she worked as an X-ray technician when she lived in Michigan and was in college. She moved to Broward County in 2019. She is a board member of Mental Health America of Southeast Florida, a non-profit organization. She owns a handgun.
Juror 9 is a woman who works as a legal assistant and has experience with prosecutors. She said she has considered going to law school. She said she has benefited from mental health counseling.
Juror 10 is a man who has worked as an immigration officer since 2018. He said he served in the U.S. military from 2013 to 2016 and then took time off to do “hippie stuff.”
“I have done a dozen qualification events but, outside the range, I haven’t used weapons,” he said in court during attorneys’ one-on-one interviews.
Juror 11 is a man who works for a family business involving exports. He said he earned a college degree in music and worked as a project manager until the pandemic disrupted the industry.
Juror 12 is a woman who works as a senior compliance investigator for a medical device firm. She said she has worked in finance and accounting. Her father was a police chief. is a man who works as a stocking supervisor for Walmart. He said his cousin was in a class with Cruz before the shooting. He said his uncle is a psychologist.
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