The gunman who killed 17 people at a South Florida high school in 2018 is expected to be sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, capping a harrowing, months-long trial in which a jury declined to recommend the death penalty.
Nikolas Cruz, 24, is set to face more of his victims in court before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer formally imposes the sentence she recommended last month — an outcome that disappointed and angered many relatives of those he killed, including some who faced Cruz on Tuesday in court.
LIVE UPDATES: Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz to be formally sentenced
“I’m too old to see you serve a life sentence, but I hope the moment you breathe here on Earth is miserable and you repent for your sins,” Teresa Robinovitch, the grandmother of murdered 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, he said to the shooter. “And burn in hell.”
Cruz pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which despite America’s ongoing epidemic of gun violence remains the deadliest mass shooting at a US high school .
The state sought the death penalty, so Cruz’s trial moved to the sentencing phase, in which a jury was tasked with hearing prosecutors and defense attorneys argue why they thought he should or shouldn’t be put to death.
The prosecution argued, in part, that the shooting was particularly heinous, horrific or cruel and was premeditated and calculated. The defense, pushing for a life sentence, pointed to the offender’s mental or intellectual deficits that they said stemmed from prenatal exposure to alcohol.
Three jurors were persuaded to vote for life, sparing Cruz the death penalty, which in Florida a jury must recommend unanimously. Scherer must follow the jury’s recommendation of life without parole, according to state law.
However, the life sentence was less than what many of those injured Cruz and the families of those he killed wanted.
“It’s really, really sad. I miss my little boy,” Max Schachter, father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter, told CNN Wednesday before the sentencing. “It’s not right that the worst high school shooter in U.S. history basically gets what he wants,” he said, referring to Cruz’s life sentence.
“She shouldn’t live,” Anthony Modalto III, whose older sister Gina, 14, was killed in the shooting, said during testimony Tuesday, “while my sister is rotting in the grave.”
Of those killed, 14 were students and three were members of staff who died running towards danger or trying to help students escape.
The students killed were: Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Modalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alex Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; and Peter Wang, 15.
Geography teacher Scott Beigel, 35; wrestling coach Chris Hixon, 49; and assistant football coach Aaron Feis, 37, were also killed.
Much is still unclear about what Cruz’s future will look like. He will likely be held in Broward County before being turned over to the Florida Department of Corrections and transferred to one of several reception centers around the state.
There, Cruz will spend weeks undergoing physical and mental exams, Florida criminal defense attorney Janet Johnson told CNN. “They’re going to look at his record, they’re going to look at the level of crime he’s been convicted of, which is obviously the highest, and they’re going to recommend a facility somewhere in the state,” he said.
Which facility is determined by factors such as the seriousness of the offense, the length of the sentence and the inmate’s prior criminal record, according to the Florida Department of Corrections website. Typically, those convicted of the most serious crimes or with the longest sentences are placed in the most secure facilities, the website says.
Because Cruz is a high-risk offender, he will likely be incarcerated with other high-profile or “very dangerous criminals,” Johnson said.
“But he wouldn’t be in solitary, which of course is a real threat to him because there might be people who want to deliver ‘prison justice’ who didn’t think the sentence he got in court was enough,” Johnson said. added.
The corrections department did not respond to CNN’s question about what kind of mental health treatment Cruz may receive while in prison. During the trial, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office released more than 30 pages of Cruz’s writings and drawings that revealed disturbing thoughts he had while in custody, focusing on guns, blood and death.
On one page, Cruz wrote that he wanted to be sentenced to death, while on another he told his family he was sad and hoped to die of a heart attack by taking painkillers and overeating.
As for the victims and their families, the end of the gunman’s trial merely marks the closing of a chapter in a life’s journey of grief.
“I want to put this behind me,” Max Schachter told CNN on Wednesday. “I’m going to court later today. He will be sentenced to life in prison and I will never think of this murderer again.”
