Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz is currently facing the head start of his death penalty trial as the jury selection started on Monday.

Cruz killed 17 students and staff at a Florida high school on Valentine's Day in 2018. It was considered as one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, according to a Reuters report.

He has pleaded guilty in November to the premeditated murder of 14 students and three members of the staff at the Florida high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

A jury will now determine whether the judge should sentence Cruz to life in prison or the death penalty.

Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said that jury selection should take until about May 31. Legal experts have said that the penalty phase could last several months.

A jury must be unanimous in its decision to recommend that a judge's sentence be executed, according to Florida law.

If any of the 12 jurors objects, Cruz will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The jury will be asked to consider Cruz's brain damage from his mother's drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy, his long history of mental health disorders, and allegations that he was sexually abused and bullied.

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Parkland School Shooting Death Penalty Trial

Tony Montalto, a parent of one of the victims who died in the shooting, said that the death penalty trial "has been a long time coming," according to The Guardian News report.

Montalto said that he hopes everyone remembers the victims of the mass shooting in the Florida high school.

The father of 14-year-old victim Gina said that Cruz told the world his plans on social media and did those plans in a "cold and calculated manner."

Parents and spouses of the victims have said they are in favor of Cruz's execution. Montalto did not answer the question directly. However, he said on several occasions that Cruz "deserves every chance he gave his daughter Gina and the others."

Juror candidates who will pass will be taken into another room, where they will answer a questionnaire regarding their backgrounds and beliefs for the lawyers to review.

Nikolas Cruz's Mass Shooting

Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of attempted murder for those he injured in the attack. By doing so, he faces the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison, according to a BBC News report.

Cruz was 19 when he shot dead 14 students and three school staff with an AR-15 rifle at his former school, with another 17 people wounded due to the mass shooting incident.

Cruz tearfully addressed the judge and the victims' families after the plea, saying that he was sorry for what he did and have to live with it every day. He added that he would do everything in his power to help others if he was to get a second chance.

Lawyers representing Cruz earlier said that the 23-year-old Florida man would plead guilty if the death penalty was not considered.

However, prosecutors rejected the offer. They noted that they would seek Cruz's execution, adding that they would prove that the crime "was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."

READ MORE: 13-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Shooting Younger Sister to Death

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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