The prosecutor who unsucessfully urged a Florida jury to sentence the Parkland faculty mass shooter to dying has requested for an investigation right into a juror’s allegation of a perceived menace by one other member of the panel.
An unnamed juror recognized as Juror X knowledgeable a court docket staffer that “throughout deliberations she acquired what she perceived to be a menace from a fellow juror whereas within the jury room,” the prosecution stated in a submitting asking Circuit Choose Elizabeth Scherer to order police to interview the juror, in keeping with CNN. “The State didn't name Juror X again and as an alternative, filed a Discover to the Court docket,” the submitting added.
After deliberating for 2 days, the jury on Thursday really useful Nikolas Cruz be sentenced to life in jail for killing 17 individuals at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Excessive College in 2018. The prosecution argued Cruz deserved the dying penalty, a sentence that might have required unanimous settlement from the 12-member panel.
Denise Cunha, a member of the jury, wrote in a observe to the decide on Thursday that the dialog amongst jurors was “tense.” Cunha denied she determined voting in opposition to the dying penalty earlier than the trial even began, in keeping with The Related Press.
“The deliberations had been very tense and a few jurors grew to become extraordinarily sad as soon as I discussed that I'd vote for all times,” Cunha wrote within the observe. It’s unclear whether or not she is the individual the prosecutor recognized as Juror X.
Jury foreperson Benjamin Thomas informed CBS Information Miami he was disenchanted with the panel’s sentencing choice, however stated everyone seems to be entitled to an opinion. He stated the decision got here down to at least one juror who argued Cruz mustn't get the dying penalty as a result of he was mentally unwell.
“There was one with a tough no, she couldn’t do it and there have been one other two that ended up, you understand, voting the identical manner,” Thomas stated.
The choice enraged a number of the households of these killed.
“You set a precedent for the subsequent mass killing,” stated Dr. Ilan Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was killed within the rampage.
The decide, who should observe the jury’s suggestion, will formally sentence Cruz on Nov. 1.
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