Parkland School Shooting Verdict: Gunman Nikolas Cruz Escapes Death Penalty, Gets Life in Prison Without Parole

Nikolas Cruz, the Florida mass shooter who shot up Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and killed 17 people was spared the death penalty. The Florida jury instead recommended that he should get life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to Reuters, the prosecution originally requested the death penalty for Cruz. The 24-year-old, who was responsible for one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, showed little emotion as his verdict was read out.

Lead prosecutor Mike Satz said in his closing argument that Cruz hunted his victims and returned to those he wounded and shoot them again to make sure they were dead.

"This plan was goal directed, it was calculated, it was purposeful and it was a systematic massacre," Satz said.

Meanwhile, the defense argued that Cruz was a "brain-damaged, broken, mentally-ill person." They presented evidence that included testimony from counselors and a doctor, all of whom agreed that the Parkland shooter suffers from a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which affected his reasoning and behavior.

Witnesses also testified that his birth mother, Brenda Woodard, took alcohol and cocaine while she was still pregnant with him. This led the defense to argue that he was "literally poisoned" while he was still in the womb, and this affected his reasoning.

Jury foreperson Benjamin Thomas admitted in an interview that one juror insisted that Cruz should not get the death penalty because of his mental illness.

The sentencing hearing had been set for November 1.

The Jury Did Not Unanimously Vote for Death Penalty for Parkland Shooter Nikolas Cruz

A unanimous decision was needed in order to hand Cruz the death penalty. However, at least one juror from the 12-member jury did not agree on giving the infamous Parkland shooter such a punishment.

NPR reported that while all 12 jurors found that there had been aggravating factors in the murders, at least one juror concluded that the aggravating factors did not outweigh the mitigating circumstances for each murder. This meant that the jury, or at least one of them, found that the case did not merit the death penalty and thus recommended a life sentence.

When the jurors read out the verdict sheets for all 17 counts of murder, NPR noted that it was difficult for observers to immediately discern what the jury decided.

Parkland Victims' Families Upset With Jury Decision

As the verdict was read out and the families of the victims found out that Cruz was not getting the death penalty, many of them were visibly upset. They appeared in a press conference following the verdict and expressed their dismay and anger over the decision.

One father, Fred Guttenberg, who lost his 14-year-old daughter Jaime in the mass shooting incident, stated that he was stunned and devastated as their loved ones did not receive any justice.

"This jury failed our families today," Guttenberg added.

BBC reported that distress was visible in the faces of the family members. One father, Tony Montalto, who lost his daughter, Gina, in the attack, was seen shaking his head as he wrapped his arms around his wife, Jennifer, who dropped her head in dismay. Other family members could be seen crying quietly. One family member even stood up and left the room as soon as the verdict was read.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Jury recommends Parkland school shooter be sentenced to life prison - ABC News