Parkland school killer faces the death penalty

The sentencing phase of the trial of 2018 Parkland High School shooter Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people, began Monday in Florida before a jury that will decide whether he is sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October last year to 17 counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 14 students and three teachers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.

At this stage of the process, the only thing at stake is the sentence. To reach a verdict of the death penalty, the jury would have to reach a unanimous decision.

that if it is a death sentence, the unanimity of the jury is necessary.

Prosecutors are expected to highlight the coldness and brutality of Cruz, who posted a video online three days before the massacre outlining his plans. His goal was to kill at least 20 people with an AR-15 rifle.

On the day of the shooting, Cruz entered the school and began shooting in the hallways and classrooms, even going back in some cases to finish off the wounded.

The defense plans to raise the mental problems that Cruz suffers from a childhood full of abuse. Her attorneys argue that her emotional and psychological problems arose from early exposure to alcohol and abuse.

This phase of the trial is expected to take about four months.

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