Parkland School Shooter Trial: Jury Recommends Life in Prison

Facts

• On Thursday, a jury recommended that Nikolas Cruz, the confessed shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
• Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty last year to murdering 14 students and three staff members on Feb. 14, 2018, saying he chose that date so the school could never again celebrate Valentine's Day.
• Cruz's defense attorneys argued he has mental illnesses, with several expert witnesses saying his biological mother's heavy drinking while pregnant led him to likely suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome.
• The prosecutors, however, argued the shooting was Cruz "hunting his victims," adding that he even returned to kill students whose initial gunshot wounds weren't fatal. They also claimed he has antisocial personality disorder, not fetal alcohol syndrome.
• The jury found that while prosecutors proved Cruz's actions warranted the possibility of the death penalty, they decided "mitigating circumstances" were enough to recommend life in prison.
• The decision came after the jury deliberated for over a day, with Judge Elizabeth Scherer reading the verdicts for each victim. The formal ruling — which under Florida law must abide by the jury's recommendation — is scheduled for Nov. 1 and will include victim impact statements.

Sources: NPR Online News, FOX News, New York Post, USA Today, and NBC.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by The Spectator. What's the point of having the death penalty if it isn't used against the most abhorrent crimes? Not only is it unfair that while the parents of these innocent teenagers had to bury their children, Nikolas Cruz gets to live out the rest of his life, but this could very well inspire similar atrocities. In this case, the only appropriate retribution is capital punishment.
• Left narrative, as provided by NBC. Capital punishment is a barbaric affair that compounds violence with violence and isn't the remedy it's often portrayed to be. It involves a drawn-out process that forces the victims' loved ones to relive the crime and is no more effective at ensuring a safe society than a life sentence — we need to reform our sense of "justice."