FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It's been four years since school shooter Nikolas Cruz opened fire on Valentine's Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 14 students and three staff members. The shooting also injured 17 others.
Now, the 23-year-old will go to trial after pleading guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. He faces execution or a life sentence without parole.
Jury selection is to begin on April 4 and continue through April 6, with April 7 and 8 set aside for the completion of any depositions of the numerous possible witnesses.
The penalty trial will determine whether the aggravating factors of the killings — the multiple deaths, the planning, the cruelty — outweigh mitigating factors such as Cruz's lifelong mental and emotional problems and the death of his parents. The trial is expected to last at least two months.
The trial was originally scheduled to start in 2020, but it was delayed numerous times during the coronavirus pandemic. In Feb. 2022, prosecutors told the judge they needed more time to depose dozens of defense witnesses.
Under Florida law, prosecutors and defense attorneys are allowed to interview the other side’s witnesses before trial so they know what they are expected to say and can prepare for their cross-examination.
Prior to the trial, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed a $127.5 million settlement with the families of those killed over the FBI's failure to investigate a tip it received about a month before the Parkland massacre.