A Florida judge denied the request by Nikolas Cruz’s lawyers to delay the sentencing hearing of his client, who is a confessed perpetrator of a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead.
The lawyers of the young man of 23 years indicated that in the face of the recent shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, at the national level, unleashed a “wave of emotions” that would cause a “bias” in the decision-making of the jury, for which they pointed out that scheduling the hearing for July 18 is very soon.
Faced with such a request, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer denied the request on Thursday, and affirmed that the process that was done to select the jury did not show inconveniences related to the recent mass shootings, reported Fox News.
“There has been no negative impact on their rights to a fair trial, and there is no basis to continue with this matter”, Judge Scherer specified in the ruling.
Last Tuesday, seven men and five women were selected as members of the jury for Cruz’s trial. Jurors are expected to determine at the hearing whether it is recommended that the Parkland massacre perpetrator be sentenced to life in prison or receive the death penalty.
To determine the death penalty , it will be necessary for the jury to vote unanimously for that option.
For its part, the defense is looking for the least one member of the jury who does not vote for the application of the death penalty, in order to fulfill the objective of the defense, which is that Cruz spend the rest of his days in prison.
Cruz pleaded guilty in October of 2021 to murdering 17 people at the high school on 14 February 2018, a case that caused commotion in the United States.
The sentencing trial is expected of Cruz lasts approximately four months.