Report says Parkland mass shooter Cruz will plead guilty; still faces possible death penalty

Nikolas Cruz plans to plead guilty Friday to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, WSVN-7 reported Thursday, a decision that would spare survivors and relatives of the dead a lengthy and traumatic trial. A jury, however, would still be impaneled to decided whether Cruz should be sentenced to death or face life in prison.

Cruz, 23, is scheduled for a status hearing in the mass murder case on Friday morning before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer.

WSVN did not cite a source in reporting that Cruz would plead guilty to all counts, including 17 of first-degree murder. Broward Public Defender Gordon Weekes did not return a phone call seeking comment on Thursday night.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office declined to comment, but noted that no plea deal had been reached. Defendants can plead guilty directly to the court, and proceed straight to a sentencing hearing.

“There have been no plea negotiations with the prosecution. If he pleads guilty, there would still be a penalty phase,” the State Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

In a capital case, a jury of 12 people would be asked to listen to facts about the murders, Cruz’s tumultuous upbringing and his mental health before deciding on whether he deserves to be executed. Under Florida law, a jury must be unanimous in meting out death as punishment.

Cruz is charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder, and 17 counts of attempted murder, for the rampage at the Parkland school on Feb. 14, 2018. Cruz wielded an assault-style rifle to gun down students and staff members in what remains Florida’s deadliest school shooting.

In the past, the Broward Public Defender’s Office has said Cruz would immediately plead guilty in exchange for life in prison.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office, under longtime top prosecutor Mike Satz, pressed ahead in seeking death, as has Harold Pryor, who was elected to the post last year.

Cruz had been on trial for a separate accusation: battering a jail deputy while behind bars. WSVN reported that he plans to plead guilty in that case as well. The trial was delayed after one of his attorneys fell ill.

This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Report says Parkland mass shooter Cruz will plead guilty; still faces possible death penalty."