Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz addresses court after guilty pleas
Nikolas Cruz says the victims and their families of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida should decide whether he lives or dies.
A Florida judge ruled Thursday that jurors could see the swastikas Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz drew on assignments in class rejecting the defense's argument that the symbol is too prejudicial and inflammatory.
The attorneys told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer that Cruz, 23, shot his victims without regard to race or religion, and there is no evidence that bigotry drove the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Feb. 14, 2018.
The 17 people killed and the 17 who were injured included Whites, Blacks Hispanics, Asians, Christians and Jews, the lawyers noted.
PARKLAND SHOOTING TRIAL: NEIGHBOR COMPARES NIKOLAS CRUZ TO ALFRED NEUMAN
Nikolas Cruz in court chatting with his paralegal Melissa Sly Sept. 2, 2022, at his penalty trial for the 2018 Parkland school massacre. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
The arguments were made outside the earshot of jurors, who were later shown the schoolwork that featured the offensive doodles.
Cruz pleaded guilty in October. The penalty trial in Broward County Circuit Court, in Fort Lauderdale, will determine whether Cruz is sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.
PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING: NIKOLAS CRUZ'S DRAWINGS FROM FLORIDA JAIL REVEAL DISTURBED MIND
The swastikas were drawn on English assignments at Westglades Middles School when Cruz was in eighth grade.
His teacher, Carrie Yon, testified via Zoom that she had kept the assignments to document Cruz's disturbed behavior.
Judge Elizabeth Scherer holds up Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz's eighth-grade drawings of swastikas. She ruled Sept. 1 that jurors can see the offensive doodles. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
On the papers shown in court Thursday, Cruz wrote gay slurs and drew photos of stick figures shooting each other and having sex. He once wrote Yon, "I hate you. I hate America."
On another occasion, she tried to encourage him, telling him she knew he could be a good student. He replied, "I'm a bad kid. I want to kill."
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Yon wrote in an assessment that Cruz "does not understand the difference between his violent feelings and reality" and is a danger to other students and teachers.
It is the second week of the defense case in Cruz's penalty trial. His lawyers have argued that he was born damaged.
His biological mother was a sex worker who abused crack and alcohol when she was pregnant with him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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