Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz will appear in court Thursday morning before jurors in his penalty phase trial visit the crime scene of the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre.
Cruz’s attorneys are expected to formally waive his right to attend the visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The seven-man, five-woman jury and 10 alternates will be bused under heavy security the 30 miles from the Broward County Courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale to the suburban school. Law enforcement plans to seal off the area around the school and aircraft may be barred from flying overhead to prevent protesters from interrupting the proceedings and to protect the jurors’ safety.
The panelists and their law enforcement escorts will be accompanied into the building by Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, prosecutors and Cruz’s attorneys.
Under Florida court rules, neither the judge nor the attorneys are allowed to speak to the jurors — and the jurors aren’t allowed to converse with each other — when they retrace the path Cruz followed that Valentine’s Day, as he methodically moved from floor to floor, firing down hallways and into classrooms as he went. The jurors have already seen surveillance video of the shooting and photographs of its aftermath.
Journalists will not be allowed inside until after the jurors leave, and will not be allowed to carry cameras.
The building has been sealed and surrounded by a chain-link fence since shortly after the massacre. Known both as the freshman and 1200 building, it looms ominously over the school and its teachers, staff and 3,300 students, and can be seen easily by anyone nearby. The Broward County school district plans to demolish it whenever the prosecutors approve. For now, it is a court exhibit.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder; the trial is only to determine if he is sentenced to death or life without parole.
Prosecutors are expected to rest their case shortly after the visit.
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Cruz’s attorneys are expected to formally waive his right to attend the visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The seven-man, five-woman jury and 10 alternates will be bused under heavy security the 30 miles from the Broward County Courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale to the suburban school. Law enforcement plans to seal off the area around the school and aircraft may be barred from flying overhead to prevent protesters from interrupting the proceedings and to protect the jurors’ safety.
The panelists and their law enforcement escorts will be accompanied into the building by Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, prosecutors and Cruz’s attorneys.
Under Florida court rules, neither the judge nor the attorneys are allowed to speak to the jurors — and the jurors aren’t allowed to converse with each other — when they retrace the path Cruz followed that Valentine’s Day, as he methodically moved from floor to floor, firing down hallways and into classrooms as he went. The jurors have already seen surveillance video of the shooting and photographs of its aftermath.
Journalists will not be allowed inside until after the jurors leave, and will not be allowed to carry cameras.
The building has been sealed and surrounded by a chain-link fence since shortly after the massacre. Known both as the freshman and 1200 building, it looms ominously over the school and its teachers, staff and 3,300 students, and can be seen easily by anyone nearby. The Broward County school district plans to demolish it whenever the prosecutors approve. For now, it is a court exhibit.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder; the trial is only to determine if he is sentenced to death or life without parole.
Prosecutors are expected to rest their case shortly after the visit.
Continue reading...
