Prosecutors are asking for an investigation after a juror claimed she was threatened with violence during deliberations over Nikolas Cruz’s sentence in the Parkland school massacre case.
The jury recommended Thursday that the shooter be sentenced to life in prison. Three of the twelve jurors opposed the death penalty. Cruz pleaded guilty for the murders of 17 victims at Marjory stoneman Douglas High School.
In an emergency hearing held Friday, the prosecution asked Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s permission to investigate whether any of the jurors felt threatened.
“The sheriff’s office has jurisdiction. They’ve been made aware of the situation. Certainly if that’s a matter they feel is appropriate for an investigation, that’s what they should do,”Scherer agreed.
Scherer was also contacted by a second juror, who voted for life imprisonment. He wrote Scherer a letter stating that the deliberations had been faulty. “tense”And “some jurors became extremely unhappy” once she mentioned how she’d be voting.
“I’d like to inform you that [redacted]Juror X, who was a juror in this case, said that jurors who voted to death penalty were telling him that they had already decided to vote for life. This allegation is untrue,” the letter said, in part.
Furious family members of the victims have denounced the jury’s sentencing recommendation, which spared Cruz’s life.
“I don’t think there was a full, conscious deliberation to attempt to come to a conclusion, when somebody says, ‘Nope, I’ve already made up my mind. There’s no way I’m voting for death,’”Tony Montalto, father to Parkland victim Gina Montalto told Inside Edition.
Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to Nov. 1.