Parkland victim dad 'stunned,' 'devastated' by jury verdict: 'Failed our families'
Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland school shooting victim Jaime Guttenberg, said Thursday that he hopes gunman Nikolas Cruz 'receives the kind of mercy from prisoners that he showed to my daughter and the 16 others.'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday weighed in on the life sentence verdict of Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, saying the death penalty would have been more appropriate.
"I think that if you have a death penalty at all, that that is a case, where you’re massacring those students, with premeditation and utter disregard for humanity, that you deserve the death penalty," DeSantis said during a press conference.
FLORIDA PRINCIPAL ACCUSED OF LEAVING GUNS UNATTENDED IN CONFERENCE ROOM AT PARKLAND SCHOOL
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference in Matlacha, Florida, on Oct. 5, 2022. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The jury's decision came after seven hours of deliberations over two days, ending a three-month trial that included graphic videos and photos from the massacre and its aftermath, heart-wrenching testimony from victims' family members and a tour of the still blood-spattered building. The decision left many families of the victims angered, baffled and in tears.
DeSantis said Cruz’s life sentence means that he will get the same sentence as people who have committed bad acts but not at the level of premeditated mass murder.
"I just don’t think anything else is appropriate except a capital sentence in this case. And so, I was very disappointed to see that," DeSantis said before criticizing the amount of time it took since the shooting to reach a verdict.
RON DESANTIS EXPANDS EARLY VOTING, MAIL-IN ACCESS FOR COUNTRIES STRUCK BY HURRICANE IAN
Chief Assistant Public Defender David Wheeler puts his arm around Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz as they await a verdict in his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Thursday. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
"This stings. It was not what we were hoping for… if that would’ve gone the correct way, I would’ve done everything in my power to expedite that process forward," DeSantis said. "Nevertheless, we are where we are today. But it is disappointing nonetheless."
Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. While the jury found there were aggravating factors to warrant the death penalty for each victim, they also found mitigating factors. In the end, the jury could not agree that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones, so Cruz will get life without parole.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will formally issue the life sentence on Nov. 1.
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Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty a year ago to murdering 14 students and three staff members and wounding 17 others on Feb. 14, 2018. Cruz said he chose Valentine's Day to make it impossible for Stoneman Douglas students to celebrate the holiday ever again.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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