Jury recommended life for Parkland shooter. What are people saying about that?

A 12-person jury recommended Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz be sentenced to life in prison without parole. The jury deliberated for more than seven hours before delivering its recommendation on Thursday morning.

READ MORE: What happens after Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz is sentenced? How life or death unfolds

Cruz pleaded guilty to the mass shooting last year. The Feb. 14, 2018, shooting took the lives of 17 students and educators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Cruz will be formally sentenced on Nov. 1.

Here’s how the public has reacted to the jury’s sentencing recommendation.

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright issued a statement on Thursday, also announcing that mental health professionals are at schools to help.

“Our District understands that the jury’s recommendation in the sentencing phase of the trial will impact our students, staff, families and the entire community,” she said. “Our thoughts and support are with the families of the victims of the tragedy.”

In a statement, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami said a sentence of life is “a severe and just punishment” that will give Cruz the opportunity to reflect on the harm he caused.

Wenski pointed to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, saying that God punished Cain but didn’t require his life for killing Abel.

“Human dignity — that of the convicted as well as our own — is best served by not resorting to the extreme and unnecessary punishment of capital punishment,” Wenski said. “Modern society has the means to protect itself without the death penalty.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 12:23 PM.

Grethel Aguila

Miami Herald

Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.