Parkland school shooter formally received a sentence of life without parole Wednesday after families of his spent two days berating him as evil, a coward, a monster and a subhuman who deserves a painful death.
Cruz, shackled and in a red jail jumpsuit, showed no emotion as Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer pronounced one-by-one 34 consecutive life sentences 害羞草研究所� one each for the slain and the 17 he wounded during the at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in suburban Fort Lauderdale.
The judge害羞草研究所檚 voice broke as she read the first sentences, but she gained strength and volume she moved down the list. Scherer had no other choice in sentencing; the jury in Cruz害羞草研究所檚 three-month penalty trial to sentence him to death, but Florida law requires unanimity for that sentence to be imposed.
Scherer made no comments directed at Cruz beyond what was legally required. Instead, the judge commended the victims害羞草研究所� families and the wounded, calling them strong, graceful and patient.
害羞草研究所淚 know you are going to be OK, because you have each other,害羞草研究所� Scherer said.
Some parents and other family members of the slain wept as she spoke. When she finished and Cruz was led from the courtroom, one father muttered 害羞草研究所淕ood riddance.害羞草研究所� They then gathered into groups and hugged each other.
Cruz, 24 and a former Stoneman Douglas student, pleaded guilty last year to the massacre, where he stalked a three-story classroom building for seven minutes, firing 140 shots with a semi-automatic rifle. He will be taken within days to the Florida prison system害羞草研究所檚 processing center near Miami before he is assigned to a maximum-security facility. Experts say he will likely be placed into protective custody, perhaps for years, before he is released into the prison害羞草研究所檚 general population.
The sentencing came after the families and the wounded spent two days verbally thrashing Cruz while mourning their loved ones. Many wished him a painful demise and lamented that he could not be sentenced to death. Others said that after leaving court Wednesday, they would try not to think of him again.
害羞草研究所淩eal justice would be done if every family here were given a bullet and your AR-15 and we got to pick straws, and each one of us got to shoot one at a time at you, making sure that you felt every bit of it,害羞草研究所� Linda Beigel Schulman said. Her son, teacher Scott Beigel, was shot in the back as he led students to safety in his classroom.
She told him that his fear would mount, 害羞草研究所渦ntil the last family member who pulled that last straw had the privilege of making sure that they killed you.害羞草研究所�
Fred Guttenberg told the court that last week he finally watched the security video of the shooting, witnessing his 14-year-old daughter Jaime get to within one step of a stairway door and safety when Cruz害羞草研究所檚 bullet hit her in the spine.
害羞草研究所淚 saw you enjoy it,害羞草研究所� he told Cruz. He said he then went to Jaime害羞草研究所檚 grave and asked her for guidance.
害羞草研究所淚 walked away from the cemetery realizing that no matter the verdict, nothing changed. Jaime is still in the cemetery,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚 am still a dad who every day dreamed of walking his daughter down the aisle and now I have to face a lifetime of reality that I won害羞草研究所檛.害羞草研究所�
Victoria Gonzalez, whose boyfriend Joaquin Oliver was murdered as he lay wounded on the floor, told Cruz she had once sat near him in a class. She told him she felt sorry every day for him then, knowing that he struggled. His attorneys said that his birth mother害羞草研究所檚 heavy drinking left him with brain damage 害羞草研究所� an assertion the prosecution and the families rejected.
害羞草研究所淚 was rooting for you,害羞草研究所� Gonzalez told Cruz, telling him she would cross her fingers when the teacher asked him a question, hoping he would get it right and feel accomplishment. Back then her life was happy, she had friends: 害羞草研究所淛oaquin loved me for all my flaws.害羞草研究所�
Now, she says, because of what Cruz did, she can no longer get close to anyone because she fears loss, no matter what her outside appearance says.
害羞草研究所淚 do blame you 害羞草研究所� not you alone 害羞草研究所� but definitely you,害羞草研究所� she said. She recalled listening to a medical examiner describing Oliver害羞草研究所檚 gruesome head wound. 害羞草研究所淚 will live with that 害羞草研究所� and you will live with that indifferently.害羞草研究所�
Several parents over the two days said they would petition the Legislature to change the state害羞草研究所檚 death penalty law so that jury unanimity is no longer needed for a judge to impose a death sentence.
害羞草研究所淒o we now have closure? Let me be clear, absolutely not,害羞草研究所� said Dr. Ilan Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was killed when Cruz fired into her classroom. 害羞草研究所淲hat I see is that the system values this animal害羞草研究所檚 life over the 17 now dead. Worse, we sent the message to the next killer out there that the death penalty would not be applied to mass killing. This is wrong and needs to be fixed immediately.害羞草研究所�
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Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro and David Fischer in Miami contributed to this report.
Terry Spencer, The Associated Press
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