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Parkland School Shooter Avoids Death Penalty After Jury Recommends Life Without Parole. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired October 13, 2022 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH SCHERER, JUDGE, BROWARD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, Nikolas Cruz knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons. Yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state is established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, the first-degree murder of Meadow Pollack was committed while Nikolas Cruz was engaged in the commission of a burglary. Yes.
We the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, that the first-degree murder of Meadow Pollack was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, the first-degree murder of Meadow Pollack was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification. Yes. Reviewing the aggravating factors that we unanimously found to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, we, the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors are sufficient to warrant a possible sentence of death. Yes.
One or more individual jurors find that one or more mitigating circumstances was established by the greater weight of the evidence. Yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors that were present -- that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh the mitigating circumstances established as to meadow Pollack, no. Signed October 13, foreperson Benjamin Thomas.
Jury verdict form as to victim Cara Loughran. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz was previously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to another person, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state is established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz knowingly created a great -- a great risk of death to many persons, yes. We the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor that the first-degree murder of Cara Loughran was committed while Nikolas Cruz was engaged in the commission of a burglary, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first- degree murder of Cara Loughran was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first-degree murder of Cara Loughran was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification, yes.
Reviewing the aggravating factors that we unanimously found to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, we, the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors are sufficient to warrant a possible sentence of death, yes. One or more individual jurors finds that one or more mitigating circumstances was established by the greater weight of the evidence, yes. Eligibility for the death penalty as to victim Cara Loughran. We the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh the mitigating circumstances established as to Cara Loughran, no. Signed, Benjamin Thomas, October 13, 2022.
[11:35:06]
Count 15, victim Joaquin Oliver. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz was previously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use of threat, use, or threat of violence to another person, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons, yes.
We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor that the first-degree murder of Joaquin Oliver was committed while Nikolas Cruz was engaged in the commission of a burglary, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first-degree murder of Joaquin Oliver was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state is established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first- degree murder of Joaquin Oliver was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification, yes.
Reviewing the aggravating factors that were unanimously found to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, we, the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors are sufficient to warrant a possible death sentence, yes. One or more individual jurors find that one or more mitigating circumstances was established by the greater weight of the evidence, yes. Eligibility for the death penalty as to victim Joaquin Oliver, we the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh the mitigating circumstances established, no. Dated October 13, foreperson, Benjamin Thomas.
Verdict form as to count 16, victim Jaime Guttenberg. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz was previously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to another person, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons, yes.
(AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: All right, everyone looks like the shot from the courtroom. The video from the courtroom looks like we're having a technical glitch right now as this court proceeding continues. I'm Kate Bolduan. We've been -- what we've been watching here so far more to be read, but as we've heard these counts read so far, a jury recommending life in prison without the possibility of parole for the Parkland killer, Nikolas Cruz, which would mean avoiding the death penalty. But we have to say this -- they -- right now, in the initial counts read in court, that is the direction this is going, that is what we're hearing from the jury as the judges reading it. There are still more counts to be read. We're trying to reestablish this connection, of course, in the courtroom.
Here with me as Jean Casarez and Paul Callan as we continue to try to get this established. Again, a big caveat of this is still continuing. They were on -- what count are they on, Jean? They were on? I think they're on one of the last if not the last.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, one of the last. I think one of the last reads.
BOLDUAN: You're on six -- they were on the 16th person. Just your initial reaction is so far as we've heard from the jury as they've been going through -- as the judge has been reading through this, this is life in prison without the possibility of parole, so far, it does not look like it is going towards the death penalty.
[11:40:12]
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No, it doesn't look like --
BOLDUAN: Paul, pause, let's go back to the courtroom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHERER: Was established by the greater rate the evidence, yes. Eligibility for the death penalty as to Jamie Guttenberg. We, the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh the mitigating circumstances established as to Jamie Guttenberg, no. Sign Benjamin Thomas, October 13, 2022.
Count 17, Peter Wang. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz was previously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to another person, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor Nikolas Cruz knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first-degree murder of Peter Wang was committed while Nikolas Cruz was engaged in the commission of a burglary, yes.
We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first- degree murder of Peter Wang was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, yes. We, the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first-degree murder of Peter Wang was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification, yes. Reviewing the aggravating factors that we unanimously found to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, we the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors are sufficient to warrant a possible sentence of death, yes.
One or more individual jurors find that one or more mitigating circumstances was established by the greater weight of the evidence, yes. Eligibility for the death penalty as to Peter Wang, we, the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh the mitigating circumstances established as to count 17, Peter Wang, no. October 13, 2022, signed by foreperson Benjamin Thomas.
Madam Clerk, would you please pull the jurors?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Thomas, is this your verdict?
BENJAMIN THOMAS, JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tony De Vega (PH), is this your verdict?
TONY DE VEGA (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Steven Croft (PH), is this your verdict?
STEVEN CROFT (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jimmy Babel (PH), is this your verdict?
JIMMY BABEL (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Andrew Johnson, is this your verdict?
ANDREW JOHNSON, JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Andrew?
JOHNSON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Anish Sanchez (PH), is this your verdict?
ANISH SANCHEZ (PH), JUROR: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stacy Lasinjim (PH), is this your verdict?
STACY LASINJIM (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Melody Van'O (PH),is this your credit?
MELODY VAN'O (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Loreal Rochus (PH),is this your verdict?
LOREAL ROCHUS (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dmitri Pajaraff (PH),is this your verdict?
DMITRI PAJARAFF (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gabriel Figaro (PH),is this your verdict?
[11:45:01]
GABRIEL FIGARO (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And, Denise -- is it Camhoff (PH)?
DENISE CAMHOFF (PH), JUROR: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this your verdict?
CAMHOFF: Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
SCHERER: Members of the jury, I wish to thank you for your time and consideration in this case. I also wish to advise you of the following. No juror can ever be required to talk about the discussions that occurred in the jury room except by court order. For many centuries, our society has relied upon juries for consideration of difficult cases. Your deliberations, discussions, and votes should remain your private affair if that's what you wish. Therefore, the law gives you the privilege not to speak about the jury's work.
Although you are at liberty to speak with anyone about your -- about your deliberations, you're also at liberty to refuse to speak to anyone. A request to discuss either your verdict or your deliberations may come from those who are simply curious, from those who might seek to find fault with you, from the media, the attorneys are elsewhere. It will be up to you to decide whether to preserve your privacy as a juror. At this time, the sheriff's office is going to escort the jurors out of the courtroom.
OK, the defendant having previously been -- have he been adjudicated? Adjudicated of 17 counts of murder in the first degree, the jury having returned a verdict of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, is there any legal reason why I should not impose a sentence at this time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, your, Honor.
SCHERER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that is under 921.143, the victims under counts one through 70, and also the surviving victims of the attempted homicide have a right to express themselves as to the -- everything that could not be expressed as a victim impact. They can express themselves as to crime and what they think should have been the appropriate disposition and sentence. That is -- it is anticipated that that could be a lengthy sentencing hearing because it applies to all 34 counts of the indictment.
SCHERER: OK, are you prepared to present that testimony now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we're not, your honor. And under the statute, it says that the victims have a right to present that testimony. And also, as you know, under the Florida constitution, the victims have a right to be heard, and that the victims should present that testimony before you announced the sentence.
SCHERER: OK. When can we do that on November 1, which is a Tuesday?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, your, Honor.
SCHERER: OK. I'll reset the sentencing for November 1, Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. So the defendant will remain in custody at the Broward sheriff's office until such time as he is sentenced.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, your Honor.
SCHERER: Is there anything else for today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing from the defense, your, Honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing from the --
SCHERER: OK, thank you. We're in recess.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: OK. So, what we've all just been watching together, as you heard from the judge right there, a jury unanimously recommending life in prison without the possibility of parole on all counts for Parkland killer Nikolas Cruz, which means he has avoided the death penalty. The 12-person jury deliberating for only one day, they just began yesterday. In the courtroom as you can see, these are some of the families right here of the victims, packed with the families of the victims of that massacre as the verdict was read. The shock on their faces and sorrow, so many emotions evident as this verdict was read. Cruz pleaded guilty last year of killing 17 students and staff in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
Now as we continue to watch as the families are leaving the courtroom now, with me here on set is Jean Casarez who's been following this from the very beginning. Paul Callan has been following this as well. Paul, your reaction to what we heard from the judge and jury.
CALLAN: It's a real shocker. I mean, given, first of all, the crime itself, prosecutors proved a crime that was cruel, it was premeditated, it was calculated. The jury unanimously found that aggravating circumstances existed which would support the imposition of the death penalty, so it certainly sounded like this jury was going to impose the death penalty.
[11:50:05]
But the last question had to do with mitigating circumstances. And apparently one or possibly more of the jurors thought there was some mitigating circumstance. We don't know what mitigating circumstance they're talking about. Although the aggravating circumstances are outlined in detail, the specifics of what mitigating circumstances existed, we don't know.
And so finally, under Florida law, if you don't have a unanimous decision that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, then the death penalty cannot be imposed. So obviously, one or more of these jurors thought that there were mitigating circumstances that should prevent the imposition.
BOLDUAN: And, Jean, every time the judge read that question, that unanimously the jury finds aggravating factors outweigh mitigating that no, you can see the impact, so you could physically see the impact of that on the families in the courtroom.
CASAREZ: You could -- you could. And I think it's fascinating the impact of those mitigating circumstances. Now, as Paul so gallantly said, it can be anything a mitigating circumstance. But here is what the defense really laid out for this jury. A lifetime struggle --
BOLDUAN: But, Jean, as you're talking, just looking I mean, you can just see the emotion just really flowing again.
CASAREZ: Oh, yes.
BOLDUAN: Yes, go ahead, Jean, I'm so sorry.
CASAREZ: A lifetime of struggles at home in school born to a woman who abused drugs and alcohol, incorrect medical diagnoses, struggles with inconsistent administration of medicine, and mental disorders and a brain that wasn't fully formed at the age of 19 years old. So obviously, those played a major role. But just as Paul said, we know it wasn't unanimous for death. We know that. But we don't know what the split was. Were some wanting death, and others not wanting death? Because that could be very interesting right there to see the mindset of the jury as a whole because if it's -- if it's bifurcated, like that, then they have to go with life in prison.
BOLDUAN: Without -- juror speaking, and they may speak as the judge said, will we know what the mitigating factors were? Will we know how they reach this decision?
CALLAN: No, we won't know because it's not on the jury verdict sheet. So there's nothing official that will be in the record pertaining to that. Now, although the jury -- the jury was instructed that they don't have to talk to anybody about their verdict, it's been my experience and I'm sure you've seen it as well, that most of the time, one or more jurors do talk about what went on in the jury room. And I think we will eventually find out what they focused on. But what shocks me here is that this was such a brutal killing. I mean, he -- Cruz didn't stop shooting until his gun jammed after killing 17 individuals, and a very, very lengthy presentation.
But the defense in the case really was nothing out of the ordinary in a criminal case. As I've tried cases as a homicide prosecutor and as a defense attorney, this defense is basically that he comes from a tough background, and that he had problems earlier in his life. That tends to be a very common story among people who commit murder. And -- but this case has -- there's such overwhelming premeditation calculation and cruelty involved. In previous years, this would have been the kind of case where you would get a death penalty, particularly in Florida. So, I think something is changing about attitudes toward the death penalty in Florida and maybe across the country. And juries are evaluating it. Maybe this is a harbinger in a different way.
CASAREZ: And there was at least one individual that he shot and then he saw he was shot, and he kept shooting. So, there were different scenarios there. But the heinous the atrocious and cruel and they found so much unanimity on all of that. And then when it comes to the -- to the really important question --
BOLDUAN: Something outweighed it.
CASAREZ: The balancing mitigating --
BOLDUAN: To one person at least.
CASAREZ: To at least one person, that's right.
BOLDUAN: Yes. Guys, can you stick with me? I want to get outside the courthouse. Our Carlos Suarez is live outside the courthouse as we're awaiting, potentially a press conference with some of the families of these victims. What are you seeing and hearing there, Carlos?
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's our understanding that some of the family members going into today said that they were going to talk about the verdict after it was handed down whether or not that changes is still to be seen. I think having covered this case for the last several months there were two victims that you really thought the jury would come back on. It was Peter Wang. He was 15 years old, and a member of the JROTC. He was shot 12 times while holding the door for other students trying to get out. That was the most graphic pieces of evidence that the jury got to look at.
Joaquin Oliver was also one of the other victims that you got a sense of from the jury while they were looking at the autopsies and some of the surveillance video showing the photos. A lot of the juries -- the jurors were looking away as some of that video was shown.
[11:55:04] Joaquin was hiding and he'd been shot in the leg and so he couldn't get away. And the surveillance cameras at the school, about 12 of them were recording that day, captured Joaquin watching Nikolas Cruz come up to him and shoot him several times. And so I think there was a great deal of surprise among the family members, as you guys have been talking about, A lot of them were just staring at the jury the entire time shaking their heads.
Tony Montalvo, whose daughter Gina was shot just would not look away and he was just shaking his head throughout the entire process. Christopher Hixon's son and his mother, they walked up after the jury came back and said that Cruz would spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole after they decided that some of the mitigating circumstances outweighed the aggravating one. There has been a room set up just next door to where the courtroom has been set up. And we're told that that's where some of the family members might go and share some of their thoughts on this. But as you guys have been saying, clearly, there was one juror -- one or more jurors who just held out on whether or not some of these mitigating circumstances really outweighed the aggravating ones.
And the defense really offered a number of them. A lot of it focused on Nikolas Cruz's birth mother. They testified how she used drugs and alcohol during her pregnancy with Cruz. They also focus a lot of their mitigating circumstances around Cruz's adoptive mother. They painted her as a woman who tried to get her son the help he needed but ultimately, she was overwhelmed.
And going into this, we assumed -- we figured that the aggravating factors were going to be there, we just weren't quite sure if the jury would find enough of a reason to spare Cruz's life. They clearly came back on all of them. But again, having been in that courtroom, when the victims' statements were read, when the video was shown to the jurors only when the autopsy photos were shown to the jury, Joaquin Oliver, and Peter Wang, those are the two names that stood out there. It just how heinous this entire thing was.
BOLDUAN: And, Carlos, also, if you can also speak to and people may not even remember that this is the case, but the 1200 building where this happened, that is still standing, it was required to basically be frozen in time as a crime scene on the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School because this -- because of this part of this -- you know, because it couldn't be torn down, which they want to and hope to do until this was over. And the jury was taken to that building as part of this process, right?
SUAREZ: That's exactly right. The jury early on in the case made a visit to that school, and several reporters were allowed to go inside the very same building where this happened. And it remains exactly the same as it was the day of that shooting. They talked about bookbags being left, the blood that stain the walls of that school, the windows that had been shot out. That has been a piece of evidence. That has been a crime scene since the day of the shooting back in 2018.
And the jury got to look at that firsthand. The alternate jurors that were also a part of this case got to look of it -- got to look at it, and then they all came back. And the pool note, right, but the note that the report is provided, really painted, just a really difficult scene inside. And again, the jury on all of the aggravating factors, it was very clear they had no issue with providing a reason for why Cruz should die. It was these mitigating circumstances, it was whether or not Cruz was this troubled young man who battled mental illness his entire life, and the role that ultimately played in his decision to shoot and kill 17 victims.
BOLDUAN: Carlos, thank you. We're sticking around to see if there is a press conference if we will hear from any of the families. One of the things I think -- I don't -- think we should touch on is also people -- I think people just assumed if they deliberated for one day or even maybe less than a day, that would suggest it was going to be unanimous decision toward the death penalty. And that seems maybe is part of why so many people are surprised by this.
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAN: Yes. No, I think you're absolutely right about that. And I mean, first of all, you had the brutality of this crime, the monstrosity of the crime, the number of victims, and you had the solidity of the proof, which was culminated in the defendant pleading guilty and admitting that he had done all of these things. It wasn't something where the guilt was contested. And I think that's why everybody thought if it came in as a fairly quick verdict it would have been a death penalty verdict. Instead, I think it's a demonstration. And I think we're going to find out that there was probably only one juror or maybe a very -- a very small number of jurors who disagreed about the imposition of the death penalty.
