Parkland shooter attends final court hearing
Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz appeared before a judge, four years after the Parkland massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
On Wednesday, Cruz appeared in court for a final hearing before his sentencing.
Cruz pleaded guilty to all 17 murders. The next step is to find out his sentence — life or the death penalty.
With jury selection, the penalty phase of the trial is set to begin Monday.
The group will decide if Cruz is set to spend the rest of his life in jail or be sentenced to death. They will need 22 jurors — 12 will decide the sentence plus 10 alternates.
With 1,500 potential jurors arriving daily, the process is expected to take weeks.
Wednesday and Thursday, the judge and attorneys will be going over last-minute details. They will discuss the challenges of seating a jury for a case of this magnitude.
It will take a unanimous decision by the jury for Cruz to be sentenced to death.