On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis argued that Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz should have received the death penalty after it was ruled that he would receive a life sentence.
“I think that if you have a death penalty at all, that that is a case, where you’re massacring those students, with premeditation and utter disregard for humanity, that you deserve the death penalty,” DeSantis said during a press conference.
The jury’s decision came after seven hours of deliberations over two days and ended a three-month trial, which included graphic videos and photos from the massacre and its aftermath, heart-wrenching testimony from victims’ family members and a tour of the still blood-spattered building. The decision left many families of the victims angered, baffled and in tears.
DeSantis said Cruz’s life sentence means that he will receive the same sentence as other criminals who have committed lesser crimes than premeditated mass murder.
“I just don’t think anything else is appropriate except a capital sentence in this case. And so, I was very disappointed to see that,” DeSantis said before criticizing the amount of time it took since the shooting to reach a verdict.
“This stings. It was not what we were hoping for… if that would’ve gone the correct way, I would’ve done everything in my power to expedite that process forward,” DeSantis said. “Nevertheless, we are where we are today. But it is disappointing nonetheless.”
Florida law states that a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. While the jury found there were aggravating factors to warrant the death penalty for each victim, they also found mitigating factors. In the end, the jury could not agree that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones, so Cruz will get life without parole.
DeSantis was not the only one who disagreed with the jury’s verdict.
“What do we have the death penalty for,” said Dr. Ilan Alhadeff, who gave a moving victim impact statement in August on the murder of his daughter Alyssa, a 14-year-old varsity soccer player. “We are beyond disappointed with the outcome today,” his wife, Lori, said Thursday, reports The New York Times. “I just don’t understand this.”
“I don’t know how this jury came to the conclusions that they did today, but 17 families did not receive justice,” said Fred Guttenberg, who lost his 14-year-old daughter Jaime.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will formally issue the life sentence on Nov. 1.
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