Nikolas Cruz to plead guilty to the Parkland massacre
Nikolas Cruz during a hearing on April 27, 2018 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Photo: File / Taimy Alvarez-Pool / Getty Images
The self-confessed shooter from the school of Parkland on Florida Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Friday of assaulting a Broward Sheriff’s jail guard and his lawyer said he will also plead guilty to the 2018 massacre which left 14 students and three staff members dead in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. according CBS News.
Video evidence showed Cruz attacking Sergeant Raymond Beltrán on 1November 3, 2018 while in the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail. He can be seen hitting, beating and kicking Beltran, before removing the taser pistol from him and trying to use it as a blunt instrument, according to prosecutors. Correction officers took two minutes to respond to the fight and remove Cross.
During the hearing, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer repeatedly asked cross about his mental state and cross He told her that he had been told that he had anxiety and depression, but that he had not been taking medication in the last year. Cruz pleaded guilty to all four counts of assault and waived his rights to all aspects of the trial and appeal.
Cruz to plead guilty to the Parkland massacre
It is planned that next Wednesday, Nikolas Cruz will plead guilty to the mass shooting at the Parkland school.
Cruz faces 17 counts of first degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first degree murder, but he has previously refused to plead guilty, as long as the prosecution continues to press for the death penalty.
“It is our intention to file a guilty plea change in both cases for all charges,” Cruz’s attorney said in court Friday. No sentencing agreement has been reached between the teams, meaning that Cruz’s guilty plea will begin a jury trial to determine whether he receives the death penalty.
Scherer said that he had already set dates for the jury selection in November and that he would probably not be lenient if the attorneys for cross asked for a postponement on Wednesday.
cross He faces up to 15 years in prison on the assault charge alone and could face the death penalty if he pleads guilty Wednesday.
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