Broward deputies can speak with Cruz juror. But it won’t affect killer’s life sentence
Broward Sheriff’s deputies can interview a juror from the Nikolas Cruz trial who claimed to be threatened by another juror, the judge overseeing the death penalty case said during a hearing Friday. But even if criminal charges are brought, it will not affect the jury’s decision Thursday to spare the mass killer’s life.
“We’re not seeking to set aside the verdict. This was filed for safety reasons,” said Broward County Assistant State Attorney Carolyn McCann, who said she was concerned defense attorneys would see the hearing as a move to vacate the life sentence handed down by jurors Thursday. “Frankly, we don’t want to touch this with a 10-foot pole.”
On Thursday, after a gut-wrenching three-month trial in which family members who attended most of the sessions were forced to relive some of the worst memories of their lives, a 12-member jury decided to spare Cruz’s life.
Cruz has admitted to killing 17 students and administrators and injuring 17 others in the worst mass high school shooting in Florida history. The gunman, who planned the attack, took an Uber to Marjory Stoneman Douglas Senior High School on Valentine’s Day 2018, along with a bag that carried the AR-15-style rifle he used to kill his victims. Then he stalked the hallways of the freshman building, in some cases repeatedly shooting victims to make sure they were dead.
Defense attorneys representing Cruz admitted his guilt almost immediately after the attack and agreed to forgo trial in exchange for a life sentence. But Michael Satz, who was the Broward County State Attorney at the time, chose to seek the death penalty.
On Thursday, jurors chose to spare Cruz’s life. The decision in one of the most-watched trials in the country stunned onlookers and drew disgust from family members. There was also apparently tension in the jury room as members deliberated the verdict. One juror sent a letter to the court telling Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer that she disputed alleged chatter from other jurors that she had already made up her mind on the sentence before the trial.
“This allegation is untrue and I maintained my oath to the court that I would be fair and unbiased,” she wrote. “The deliberations were very tense and some jurors became extremely unhappy once I mentioned that I would vote for life.”
At about the same time, Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor petitioned the court, saying another juror had called his office asking to speak with Satz and complained that another juror had acted in a threatening manner because of the juror’s decision in the case. Pryor asked for Friday’s hearing, which was granted.
“The court has a duty to investigate this allegation,” Pryor wrote. In the memo, the state attorney cited a 2007 case in which a juror who felt threatened by two other jurors was granted the right to be interviewed.
Broward prosecutors and Judge Scherer didn’t name the person who called the state attorney’s office. McCann did say it was not the woman who wrote the note Thursday and it was not a male juror who made efforts to contact Scherer on Thursday asking if there was some type of complaint form he could fill out. It wasn’t immediately clear what that juror’s concerns were.
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 12:11 PM.
