A woman’s T-shirt resulted in the dismissal Monday of about a dozen potential jurors in the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, who plead guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.
Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill was the first to take issue with Robyn Halverson-Nadelman’s T-shirt. In white font, her burgundy T-shirt had a public message: “Teacher Strong #neveragain #msdstrong.”
Cruz, who is now 23, was 19 years old when he used an AR-15 rifle during the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The T-shirt had the school’s colors.
“She obviously did that on purpose to get out of jury selection,” said Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who is presiding over the trial in Fort Lauderdale.
Scherer’s goal is to have 12 jurors and 8 alternate jurors ready to listen to testimony, so they can decide if Cruz should be executed for his crimes.
Halverson-Nadelman had a medical condition that prevented her from sitting for long periods of time. Silver Palms Elementary School listed her as a first-grade teacher.
“I don’t think I could be a good fit for this case,” Halverson-Nadelman said.
Assistant State Attorney Michael Satz agreed with the dismissal “out of an abundance of caution.”
This is a developing story.
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Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill was the first to take issue with Robyn Halverson-Nadelman’s T-shirt. In white font, her burgundy T-shirt had a public message: “Teacher Strong #neveragain #msdstrong.”
Cruz, who is now 23, was 19 years old when he used an AR-15 rifle during the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The T-shirt had the school’s colors.
“She obviously did that on purpose to get out of jury selection,” said Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who is presiding over the trial in Fort Lauderdale.
Scherer’s goal is to have 12 jurors and 8 alternate jurors ready to listen to testimony, so they can decide if Cruz should be executed for his crimes.
Halverson-Nadelman had a medical condition that prevented her from sitting for long periods of time. Silver Palms Elementary School listed her as a first-grade teacher.
“I don’t think I could be a good fit for this case,” Halverson-Nadelman said.
Assistant State Attorney Michael Satz agreed with the dismissal “out of an abundance of caution.”
This is a developing story.
Related social media
Interactive graphic
Continue reading...