Florida prosecutors seeking death penalty in school shooting

[DonViejo]

Source: Associated Press




CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press•March 13, 2018

MIAMI (AP) — Florida prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz in the fatal shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The office of Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz filed the formal notice Tuesday. The 19-year-old Cruz is scheduled for formal arraignment Wednesday on a 34-count indictment, including 17 first-degree murder charges.

Cruz's attorneys have said he would plead guilty if the death penalty was not pursued in the Valentine's Day massacre. The action by prosecutors Tuesday does not necessarily mean a plea deal will not be reached.

The only other penalty option for Cruz is life in prison with no possibility of parole.

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Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-prosecutors-seeking-death-penalty-school-shooting-173645489.html

[beachbum bob]

1. heinous crimes such as what this guy committed deserves a heiness end, just saying

the DA is well justified to seek the death penalty in this case. The wilful act of murdering innocent and defenseless victims justifies a death sentence.

[LanternWaste]

8. A lot of people echoed your sentiment with computer precision...

That's precisely the kind of emotional reponse that allowed our collective will to tolerate, if not condone, the forced rendition and torture of terrorists... many of whom turned out to be nothing more than farmers.

Abu Zubaydeh the number two man at Al-Qaeda. His case was used to justify the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation program.” He 'accidentally' lost his left eye while in custody. But it turned out Zubaydah wasn’t involved with Al Qaeda; he was the ringleader of nothing; he never took part in planning for the 9/11 attacks.



And a giant butt-load of people echoed your sentiment with computer precision: humans, though flawed, magincally possess the absolute and unerring ethical knowledge of who deserves what.

[MicaelS]

2. I support the DP, except this time.

Take the plea, save time and money, let the little shit rot in solitary.

[NurseJackie]

3. Agreed.

[rocktivity]

4. That's exactly how I think this will pan out

Indeed, this move is probably just an ass-covering formality.


rocktivity

[Egnever]

5. I agree with this as well

Typically these clowns kill themselves after they do their crimes which leaves us with no way to figure out what drove them to the acts. This one did not and I think putting him down would be a big mistake and rob us of an opportunity to look much closer into what drove him to his acts and possibly to find ways to try and prevent future events like this one.

[Nitram]

6. I doubt they could get the death penalty given the number of warning signs and reports

that were ignored.

[christx30]

10. I don't think the warning signs or reports

being ignored would make any difference in what this man gets. That stuff calls for a review and reforms in the FBI and local police. Probably an overcorrection in how people like Cruz are dealt with. "This guy is violent. In the old days, we'd just send an officer out there to talk to him and we'd get a report, and that's it. But now we're going to send 6 officers out there, he'll be arrested for whatever slightly violent act he commits, and we won't let anything slide. It'll be a felony, so he'll be barred from legally obtaining guns forever. Any resistance on the part of the suspect will be met with deadly force."
He did decide to commit this violent act. He shouldn't have gotten the chance to do it, but he did do it. I mean, I hope he doesn't get the death penalty. I'd like him to spend the rest of his life in a cage.

[Nitram]

11. I'm just reporting what I've heard from people who know the law and how juries work.

I'm talking about extenuating circumstances. That will get him a life sentence instead of capital punishment. The law is not as cut and dried as you seem to believe.

[Aristus]

7. Please don't kill him. Let him rot in jail for the next seven decades.

Le him live long enough to be forgotten.

He got what he wanted: his putrid little adrenaline rush, and his name on the news.

Now find an oubliette, throw him into it, and make sure he's forgotten.

[beachbum bob]

9. tax payers monies better spent...let him be worm food

[metalbot]

12. I'm not sure what you are arguing for on tax payer money

It will cost vastly more tax payer money to execute him than to put him in prison for the rest of his life. His prison costs will be roughly $1.8M if he lives a bit beyond the expected average and has an average upkeep.

The cost of a death penalty trial, with a good death penalty defense team, and all of the expert witnesses who will be necessary on both sides, plus the cost of the appeal, plus the cost of any retrial should an appeal on any technicality be found to be with merit, plus the next appeal. Not only that, but there's the opportunity cost associated with a prosecutors office that will be spending their time preparing for a death penalty case (and fighting subsequent appeals) instead of focusing on other cases that will have an actual impact on currently living humans.

[NNadir]

13. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio also premeditated these murders. n/t.