FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - There is disorder in a Broward County courtroom a day after deputies moved in to protect a convicted school shooter.
A defense attorney for Nikolas Cruz on Wednesday argued to take the death penalty off the table after profanity-laced threats were made in court against the Parkland shooter from some potential jurors.
Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who is presiding over Cruz’s sentencing trial, reversed her order to start jury selection over.
“At this time, I’m going to dismiss the state’s motion as premature,” she said.
The heart of the issue is a decision to improperly send 11 jurors home on the second day without giving attorneys a chance to question them.
It was an error so grave, defense attorneys said, that the death penalty should be taken off the table.
“We’re asking that the state be barred from seeking the death penalty and that these proceedings be concluded,” said defense attorney Tamara Curtis in court.
Cruz has already pleaded guilty to the massacre. The jury that is being selected will only decide whether the 23-year-old is sentenced to life in prison or death.
Cruz’s attorneys only need one juror to vote to spare his life, meaning each potential juror is crucial. Improperly sending them home could have serious consequences in the proceedings.
“Only one vote for life is required for a sentence of life, so the appropriate remedy would have been to bring back these 11 jurors that were improperly excused and to acquire them at the appropriate time,” said Curtis. “If they survived hardship, why didn’t you believe they could follow the law?”
The jury selection and the trial itself are expected to continue for four to six months.
Mistakes and delays are only adding to the heartache for the families who are waiting for justice.
“I’m hoping that justice will actually bring justice, but all this delaying is not even close to justice,” said Manny Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Feb. 14, 2018 mass shooting. “It’s more and more suffering every single day that we see that this is not moving forward.”
Court is in recess on Thursday and Friday.
The 11 jurors who were improperly dismissed will be summoned back to the courtroom on Monday. Should some of the jurors not show up, then they’ll reassess.
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