Parkland trial: Dad feels 'failed' by jury that sentenced gunman to life

"I could not be more disappointed," dad Fred Guttenberg said after court.

ByEmily Shapiro
Last Updated: October 13, 2022, 8:46 PM EDT

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz has been spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison by a Florida jury for carrying out the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that claimed 17 lives.

Cruz pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection to the Feb. 14, 2018, killing of 14 students and three staff members at his former school. Among the victims were 15-year-old Peter Wang, an Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet who died while helping classmates escape, and 35-year-old Scott Beigel, a geography teacher who was shot dead while shepherding students to safety in his classroom.

This penalty phase trial was to determine if Cruz would be sentenced to death or life in prison for the massacre he committed at age 19.

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Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Oct 13, 2022, 11:52 AM EDT

Nikolas Cruz spared death penalty

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz has been spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison by a Florida jury for carrying out the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that claimed 17 lives.

PHOTO:Relatives of MSD High School shooting victims are seen reacting on a TV screen in the media room as the judge reads the jury verdict in the penalty phase of the trial of shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Relatives of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victims are seen reacting on a TV screen in the media room next to the courtroom as the judge Elizabeth Scherer reads the jury verdict in the penalty phase of the trial of shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Marco Bello/Reuters

PHOTO: Relatives of MSD High School shooting victims are seen reacting on a TV screen as the judge reads the jury verdict in the penalty phase of the trial of shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Relatives of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victims are seen reacting on a TV screen in the media room next to the courtroom as the judge Elizabeth Scherer reads the jury verdict in the penalty phase of the trial of shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Marco Bello/Reuters

On all 17 counts, the jury found that aggravated factors did not outweigh the mitigating factors.

Mitigating factors presented at trial included arguments by Cruz’s attorneys that he suffered lifelong developmental delays that traced back to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

PHOTO: MSD High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is seen in a TV screen in the media room next to the courtroom as the judge Elizabeth Scherer reads the jury verdict in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is seen in a TV screen in the media room next to the courtroom as the judge Elizabeth Scherer reads the jury verdict in the penalty phase of the trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Marco Bello/Reuters

Cruz will return to court on Nov. 1 when surviving victims will be able to read statements.

Oct 13, 2022, 11:18 AM EDT

Judge reads verdict forms

Judge Elizabeth Scherer read the 17 documents, one for each slain victim, aloud to the court on Thursday morning as prosecutors, Nikolas Cruz and his attorneys, and the victims’ families looked on.

PHOTO: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table during a hearing just before the jury resumed deliberations in the penalty phase of his trial in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table during a hearing just before the jury resumed deliberations in the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 13, 2022.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Pool via Reuters

So far, jurors have recommended life in prison without parole. The jurors weighed aggravating factors and mitigating factors, and jurors found that the aggravating factors did not outweigh mitigating factors.

Victims' families are visibly upset in the courtroom.

Oct 13, 2022, 9:54 AM EDT

Victims’ parents share emotional statements with jury

Victims' parents took the stand during the trial to read emotional victim impact statements.

PHOTO: Lori Alhadeff looks towards her husband Ilan Alhadeff as he gives his victim statement during the penalty phase in the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse on Aug. 2, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Lori Alhadeff looks towards her husband Ilan Alhadeff, as he speaks angrily while giving his victim impact statement during the penalty phase in the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse on Aug. 2, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Pool/Getty Images, FILE

Fred Guttenberg, who lost 14-year-old daughter Jaime, said on the stand, "I couldn't wait to teach her drive. ... I couldn't wait to see her graduate. I couldn't wait to see her achieve her dream of getting into the University of Florida and rooming with her cousin and living her best life. I couldn't wait to see her graduate and ultimately become a pediatric physical therapist, working her dream job."

"Jaime imagined she'd be married by 25. I used to think every day about that moment and walking my daughter down the aisle. Becoming a grandparent to the two kids she already decided she was gonna have," he said.

Fred Guttenberg gives his victim impact statement during the penalty phase in the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse on Aug. 2, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Pool/Getty Images, FILE

"What if Jaime wasn't murdered? What would these moments end up being like?" Fred Guttenberg said. "Not a day goes by where the constant image of Jaime walking down the aisle is not still a part of my daily imagination. Along with that image of what should have been her future, our future together."

Oct 13, 2022, 9:47 AM EDT

Defense says Cruz suffered lifelong developmental delays, prosecution says he planned ‘systematic massacre’

Cruz's defense attorneys had urged the jury to sentence him to life in prison. The defense admitted Cruz was responsible for his actions and planned the school shooting, but argued Cruz suffered lifelong developmental delays that traced back to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

"Sentencing Nikolas to death will change absolutely nothing," defense attorney Melisa McNeill said in closing arguments. "It will not bring back those 17 innocent victims that he viciously murdered."

PHOTO: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz looks up at his attorney as she gives her closing argument in the penalty phase of Cruz's trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 11, 2022.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz looks up at his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill, as she gives her closing argument in the penalty phase of Cruz's trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Oct. 11, 2022.
Amy Beth Bennett/AP

The prosecution, arguing for the death penalty, told jurors that Cruz researched previous mass shootings and planned a "systematic massacre."

"Some of the remarks the defendant wrote on his YouTube were: 'No mercy, no questions, double tap. I'm going to ... murder children. ... I'd love to see the families suffer,'" prosecutor Michael Satz said in closing arguments.

"He's thinking ahead," Satz said, by "not only looking to inflict pain" on the victims, but also "anticipating how that pain, fear and death ... is gonna affect the families."

PHOTO: Nikolas Cruz is shown at the defense table during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse, Sept. 14, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Nikolas Cruz is shown at the defense table during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse, Sept. 14, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Amy Beth Bennett/Pool via Getty Images, FILE