Nikolas Cruz pled guilty last year to the murder of 14 children and three adults in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. On Thursday, he received a life sentence from the jury. Out of the 12 jurors, three voted for life sentences instead of the death penalty.
One of those jurors has come forward saying that she felt threatened by another juror during the deliberations.
What happened during the Parkland jury deliberations?
According to NPR, the Parkland jury consisted of seven men and five women. During deliberations, the jurors agreed that the murders could potentially qualify for a death sentence due to their heinous nature. But this was weighed against potential mitigating factors that Cruz’s attorneys brought forward.
While the jurors deliberated, one juror said that she felt threatened. CNN reported that this juror felt threatened by another juror for the way that she decided to vote: “Juror X spoke to a support staff member and informed the support staff member that during deliberations she received what she perceived to be a threat from a fellow juror while in the jury room. The State did not call Juror X back and instead, filed a Notice to the Court.”
The prosecution filed a motion to investigate what happened during deliberations.
The name of the juror was not made public.
The Associated Press reported that juror Denise Cunha wrote a note to Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer and defended her vote for a life sentence: “The deliberations were very tense and some jurors became extremely unhappy once I mentioned that I would vote for life.” Cunha did not explain why she voted for a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
Families of the victims expressed their frustration and anger with the sentencing in a press conference after the trial ended.
Scherer will issue Cruz’s formal sentencing on Nov. 1.