‘Burn in hell’: Parkland families deliver final words to shooter before life in prison
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Parkland verdict: No death penalty for Nikolas Cruz
A Broward County jury rejected a death sentence for Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz for the 2018 shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.
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Entitled. Murderer. Nothing. Monster. Waste of oxygen. Evil.
Families of the victims and survivors of the Parkland school shooting in 2018 had plenty to say to convicted killer Nikolas Cruz Tuesday morning ahead of his formal sentencing to life in prison, a verdict that visibly pained the loved ones of the dead and injured.
“If killing 17 innocent people and injuring 17 more does not warrant the death penalty, what does?” asked Theresa Robinovitz, grandmother of Alyssa Alhadeff.
With tears in her eyes, Robinovitz looked directly at Cruz for her final message.
“I hope you burn in hell.”
In a series of emotional and occasionally fiery statements, survivors and families of victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting faced the court and levied their final judgments on the shooter. The judge is expected to formally sentence Cruz to life in prison on Wednesday.
‘Not a victim’
Some of them talked about this final court appearance as closure, if not emotionally then physically, as a conclusion to a long and painful trial.
“For me, you will cease to exist. You will go to jail and become a number,” said Debbi Hixon, who lost her husband Christopher Hixon in the massacre. “I hope your name and story will be erased from existence.”
Many of the speakers spent their time criticizing the jury verdict of life in prison, instead of the death penalty, which hinged on the defense’s argument that Cruz faced difficulties throughout his life, including an alcoholic birth mother.
“Since your prefrontal cortex is not fully developed, I will keep this simple for you and your IQ of 83,” said Natalie Hixon, Christopher Hixon’s sister. “You are not a victim of anything.”
Meghan Petty, whose 14-year-old sister Alaina was slain that day, said she believes the repercussions of the jury’s decision, where a minority of votes for life was enough to disrupt the majority voting for death, could be deadly.
“Every single twisted little freak sitting in their bedroom googling ‘mass murder hype videos’ and ‘police response times’ will now look at this case and say all they have to do is claim mental illness and they can get away with it,” she said. “What we have been told here is that 17 lives mean nothing if you’re able to make up a good enough excuse.”
Fury at defense team
Some of that fury overflowed to the attorneys seated beside Cruz. Patricia Oliver, who lost her son Joaquin, pointed to each lawyer in turn as she spoke.
“Karma,” she warned. “This is what you will all face for the rest of your miserable life because you are all a team.”
Max Schachter, who lost his 14-year-old son Alex, raged against the defense team personally for most of his speech. He accused the lawyers of lying that Cruz “slipped through the cracks of society,” pointing to the hundreds of hours of therapy he received. He said he was disgusted by the physical signs of support Cruz received from his lawyers throughout the trial.
“What is wrong with you?” he asked. “If you truly loved your children you’d never have positive feelings for such a creature. If he murdered and tortured your children I don’t think you would be hugging him and giggling with him.”
He then turned to Cruz, noting that November 1 is the anniversary of the death of Linda Cruz, Nikolas’ mother.
“It’s ironic that the anniversary of your mom’s death is my birthday. Every November 1, I will be celebrating my birthday while you’re in prison. Every November 1, I will be blowing out my birthday candles, and you know what my wish will be? That you suffer a painful, violent death,” Schachter spat.
Schachter’s comments prompted an objection from the visibly upset defense team, who pleaded with the judge to stop victims from insulting them.
“I did my job and every member of this team did their job too, and we should not be personally attacked for this and neither should our children,” said Melisa McNeill, Cruz’ public defender. “Judge, you know this is impermissible.”
Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer snapped back at McNeill, telling her to stop insinuating that she was knowingly allowing illegal activity.
“Your objection is noted,” she said.
But beyond the blame and pointed fingers, the speakers all touched on the same theme: pain. They talked about that morning in exact detail: the time on the clock, errands to pick up valentines that morning before school, the feeling of seeing a gun pointed at you, of a bullet rending flesh, the precise wording on an email bearing the news their loved one didn’t make it.
“I am broken and altered and I will never look at the world the same way again,” said Stacey Lippel, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas teacher shot by Cruz. “I see you in my nightmares. Because of you, I will never feel safe again.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 10:44 AM.
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