Jury recommends life without parole for Nikolas Cruz

A Florida jury recommended Thursday that the man who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in connection to the shooting. The jury had to decide whether to recommend Cruz be sentenced to death or jailed for life without the possibility of parole for each of the 17 counts.

Here’s what you need to know:

About the trial: Prosecutors and defense attorneys present evidence of aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances — reasons Cruz should or should not be put to death. The state argued the killings were especially heinous and calculated. It presented evidence showing the gunman spent months searching online for information about mass shootings and left behind social media comments sharing his expressed desire to “kill people.”

The public defenders asked the jury to spare his life, based on his troubled history, from being raised in a dysfunctional family to serious mental and developmental issues.

The jury’s recommendation: The jury recommended life in prison on all counts soon after they began their second day of deliberations. On each count, the jury found Cruz eligible for the death penalty based on aggravating circumstances – but did not unanimously find that those aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. Benjamin Thomas, the foreperson, told CNN affiliate WFOR that three jurors voted against the death penalty.

Family reaction: All the family members who spoke to the media were furious about the verdict.

What’s next: Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer set the sentencing date for Nov. 1. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. ET.

Victims and family members are expected to speak before the sentence is delivered. Under Florida law, Judge Scherer cannot depart from the jury’s recommendation of life. 

Benjamin Thomas, the foreperson for the jury that recommended the Parkland school shooter be sentenced to life in prison, told CNN affiliate WFOR that three jurors voted against the death penalty.

“There was one with a hard ‘no,’ she couldn’t do it, and there was another two that ended up voting the same way,” said Thomas.

“(The hard no) didn’t believe because he was mentally ill he should get the death penalty.”

About the jury’s decision: NikolasCruz avoided the death penalty after the jury recommended life without the possibility of parole on all counts against him on Thursday.

The jury returned identical answers on aggravating and mitigating circumstances for each of the 17 counts and the same findings and recommendation for every victim.

On each count, the jury found Cruz eligible for the death penalty based on aggravating circumstances – but did not unanimously find that those aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors.

We don’t know which exactly mitigating factors were in play in those discussions – but we do know which mitigating factors on Cruz’s life were presented at trial. The 41 factors were listed in the jury instructions and included factors such as “Nikolas Cruz was exposed to drugs in utero,” “Medicated throughout his childhood,” “Nikolas Cruz witnessed the death of his father,” “Nikolas Cruz has remorse” and “Nikolas Cruz pled guilty and accepted responsibility for his crimes.”

Max Schachter speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

The father of 14-year-old Parkland school shooting victim Alex Schachter said he and his wife were shocked and devastated that the shooter Nikolas Cruz avoided the death penalty following the jury’s decision on Thursday.

“Coming in here today, we thought we were going to get justice. We thought that finally the parkland murderer was going to be held accountable for his actions,” Max Schachter said, adding that the family thought Cruz would get the death penalty. “It’s so upsetting.”

“It’s just unbelievable, we’re shocked and we’re devastated,” he added. “It’s just a travesty of justice.”

Ryan Petty speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

The father of a 14-year-old victim in the Parkland massacre was critical of the jury’s decision to recommend life without the possibility of parole for the shooter.

Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed in the shooting, told reporters outside court that for a juror to decide to recommend a life sentence, they “either didn’t understand the facts in this case, or [were] dishonest with themselves when they signed up to become a juror, and would never have voted for the death penalty.”

Petty said the state’s attorneys did everything they needed to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the death penalty was warranted.

“You cannot look at the facts of this case, look at the cruel and inhumane way the 17 victims were treated — that he went back and shot again those that were already down on the ground, I’ve seen the video” and conclude otherwise, Petty said.

Petty, who serves on the state State Board of Education, was also critical of the shooter’s defense. “The lack of empathy, and humanity shown to our families by this defense team — it’s indefensible,” he said.

Family members say 14-year-old Alaina Petty had been active in her church’s volunteer trips and the school’s ROTC program.

You can read about all of the Parkland school shooting victims here.

After a Florida jury recommended life without the possibility of parole on all counts against Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, public defender Gordon Weekes said it’s important to respect the jury’s decision.

“It’s important that we as a community respect the jury’s verdict and recognize that the jury’s verdict is final,” he said Thursday at a press conference.

“This day is not a day of celebration, but a day of solemn acknowledgement, and a solemn opportunity to reflect on the healing that is necessary for this community — the healing of the trauma that occurred on Valentine’s Day, February the 14th, the healing of the loss of the families.”

He defended Cruz’s attorney, saying the team “appreciates, respects and understands” the loss of the victims’ families.

“With the greatest bit of sympathy, we attempted to prepare this case and present this case in the most professional and legal manner as we could,” he said.

Weekes declined to comment when he was asked if Cruz had a reaction to the decision today.

Family members of Parkland school shooting victim Joaquin Oliver speak at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

Parkland school shooting victim Joaquin Oliver’s family expressed shock and disgust after shooter Nikolas Cruz avoided the death penalty as a jury recommended life without the possibility of parole on all counts against him.

Oliver’s mother, Patricia, said the family was not expecting this decision and added that the families of victims and the entire community of Parkland and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are suffering.

She asked why the shooter’s massacre that left 17 dead and inflicted trauma on the community does not deserve the death penalty.

“We are in a state where the death penalty is an option,” she said. “What’s that for? That’s my question.”

She added that she wants to reconcile with this post-decision reality and not let the shooter take more of their lives away from them.

“Now, we gotta keep going, and we gotta keep living. And we have to work our best to find our peace. We don’t want to let the defendant take more from us than he’s been taking during all this time,” she said. “This is something that we have to digest. we need to live with this new reality.”

Anne Ramsay, center, speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

The mother of Helena Ramsay, a 17-year-old Marjory Stoneman senior who was killed in the Parkland massacre, made an impassioned plea for change and condemned the trial’s outcome outside court today.

“After spending months and months listening, and hearing testimonies, and looking at the murderer — his composure — I believe justice was not done,” Anne Ramsay said. “The wrong verdict was given out today.”

Ramsay made a call for national soul-searching — and alluded to policy change for guns and policing.

“There is no excuse in this country to have weapons of war on the streets, and if you do not get that, then something is wrong in this country,” Ramsay told reporters.

She also spoke passionately on the law enforcement response to the Parkland shooter and on police shootings of Black people in the US.

“There was one person with a gun on the school premises that day that my daughter died, and he did nothing to go into that building and to tackle that murderer,” Ramsay said, referring to the former school resource officer who was criticized in the wake of the massacre for failing to confront the shooter.

You can read about all of the Parkland school shooting victims here.

Linda Beigel Schulman and Michael Schulman speak at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

The parents of Marjory Stoneman geography teacher Scott Beigel, who was killed ushering students to safety in the Parkland school shooting, echoed the sentiment of other parents outside court today, saying the gunman should have been sentenced to death.

The mother said the state’s attorneys gave a “perfect” execution of the arguments against the gunman.

She stopped short of condemning the jurors personally for their decision to recommend life without the possibility of parole and acknowledged the process was likely traumatizing for them as well.

“It’s anger at the sentencing,” Linda said, and Scott’s father, Michael, interjected: “It’s anger at the system.”

“Justice was not served today,” he added.

You can read about all of the victims here.

Lin Chen speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

The family of 15-year-old Parkland massacre victim Peter Wang says they are “shocked” at the jury’s decision in the Parkland school shooting case.

“It’s just so unjust,” Wang’s cousin Lin Chen said. “We thought this was clear. This monster killed 17 people, how can he live another day?”

She spoke of how Wang’s mother is traumatized after the shooting.

“My aunt has changed forever … She cannot function normally. She cannot sleep, the constant insomnia. And we came here, thought that we could get a little comfort for my family but no, they just pushed them further,” Chen said.

The families of Parkland shooting victims “have to live knowing the fact that the murderer is in the jail every single day, breathing, eating and getting help by their lawyers,” Chen said. “What about the kids? What about the families? This is not about the shooter.”

Debra Hixon speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

After a Florida jury recommended Parkland school shooting gunman Nikolas Cruz be sentenced for life without parole, 49-year-old Chris Hixon’s widow said she was “completely devastated and shocked,” and questioned how the jury did not unanimously find that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors.

“What it says to me, what is says to my family, what it says to the other families is that his life meant more than the 17 that were murdered … and the thousands of people in that school and that community that are terrorized and traumatized every single day,” Debra Hixon said at a press conference Thursday.

“How do you say, ‘yes it’s cruel, that it was heinous, that it was planned and we all agree on that, but oh, he might have had a mental illness or he had trouble growing up,’” Hixon said.

Noting that she has a son with special needs, she said, “I have a son that checked … a lot of those boxes that the shooter did as well, and you know what? My son’s not a murderer. My son’s the sweetest person that you could ever meet.”

“Even if he didn’t [have a good upbringing] how does that outweigh cruel heinous planned? It doesn’t,” she added.

Fred Guttenberg speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

Fred Guttenberg, the father of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, said the Parkland massacre victims’ families were robbed of justice by a jury’s recommendation to sentence the shooter life in prison rather than the death penalty.

“There are 17 victims that did not receive justice today,” Guttenberg said, addressing reporters outside court.

His daughter was the 16th of the 17th victims whose names were read aloud today. The jury’s recommendations for each count were read in the order the victims were shot.

“This jury failed our families today,” Guttenberg said.

You can read about all of the victims here.

The parents of Alyssa Alhadeff speak at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

The parents of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, who was among the 17 people killed in the Parkland massacre, said they were “disgusted” with the jury’s decision to recommend life in prison over the death penalty for the gunman.

Lori and Ilan Alhadeff spoke to reporters shortly after the recommendation was read in court.

Ilan said his family was “beyond disappointed with the outcome,” adding it “should have been the death penalty — 100%.”

Both parents questioned the purpose of the death penalty in Florida’s legal system if not for the case of a mass school shooter.

“What is the death penalty for?” Lori asked.

She also called on law enforcement to do more to prevent school shootings, and to act more aggressively to stop them.

The Alhadeffs said they will continue to work through their nonprofit, Make Schools Safe, to advocate for tougher school safety policies.

Ilan thanked the state for its prosecution of the Parkland gunman, while condemning the trial’s outcome.

“The system continues to fail us,” he said.

About Alyssa Alhadeff: Alyssa, 14, was a student at Stoneman Douglas and a soccer player for Parkland Travel Soccer.

“Alyssa Alhadeff was a loved and well respected member of our club and community,” Parkland Travel Soccer said on Facebook. “Alyssa will be greatly missed.”

Lori told HLN she dropped her daughter off at school the day of the shooting and said, “I love you.” When the mother heard about the attack, she hustled to school, but was too late.

“I knew at that point she was gone. I felt it in my heart,” she said. 

You can read about all of the victims here.

Tony Montalto speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 13.

After a Florida jury recommended that Parkland school shooting gunman Nikolas Cruz be sentenced for life without parole, 14-year-old Gina Montalto’s father, Tony, criticized the decision.

As the jury did not unanimously find that aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors, Montalto questioned how the jury thought that the mitigating factors made Cruz commit these “terrible” acts.

“It’s pretty unreal that nobody paid attention to the facts of this case,” he added. “I see my beautiful daughter’s face around our home, in my dreams. And I miss her very much.”

Then he read a prepared statement on behalf of Stand With Parkland, an advocacy group he presides over.

“While this sentence fails to punish the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law, it will not stop our mission of the families that stand with Parkland to effect positive change at a federal, state and local level to prevent school shooting tragedies from shattering other American families,” he added.

Nikolas Cruz sits in court as verdicts are read during the penalty phase of his trial, on October 13.

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz avoided the death penalty after a jury recommended life without the possibility of parole on all counts against him on Thursday.

The jury returned identical answers on aggravating and mitigating circumstances for each of the 17 counts and the same findings and recommendation for every victim.

On each count, the jury found Cruz eligible for the death penalty based on aggravating circumstances – but did not unanimously find that those aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors.

Because this had to be unanimous, that finding could have come from any number of jurors – even one.

We don’t know which exactly mitigating factors were in play in those discussions – but we do know which mitigating factors on Cruz’s life were presented at trial. The 41 factors were listed in the jury instructions, and included factors such as “Nikolas Cruz was exposed to drugs in utero,” “Medicated throughout his childhood,” “Nikolas Cruz witnessed the death of his father,” “Nikolas Cruz has remorse” and “Nikolas Cruz pled guilty and accepted responsibility for his crimes.”

After a Florida jury recommended that Nikolas Cruz, 24, be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the Parkland school shooting, Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer set the sentencing date for Nov. 1.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. ET. Victims and family members are expected to speak before the sentence is delivered.

Under Florida law, Judge Scherer cannot depart from the jury’s recommendation of life. 

Cruz was tried for months for the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed, including 14 students and three school staff members. He had pleaded guilty.

Prosecutors had asked the jury to sentence  the gunman, now 24,  to death, arguing in part his crime was especially heinous or cruel.  But without the unanimous jury recommendation required under Florida law, Cruz’s sentence defaults to life, which the gunman’s defense attorneys had argued for, contending  Cruz suffered throughout his life from mental disorders and developmental delays. 

Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table during his trial on September 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Nikolas Cruz will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed, including 14 students and three school staff members.

A Florida jury recommended the sentence.

Cruz’s sentence comes after a monthslong trial to decide his fate. Prosecutors had asked the jury to sentence the gunman, now 24, to death, arguing in part his crime was especially heinous or cruel. But without the unanimous jury recommendation required under Florida law, Cruz’s sentence defaults to life, which the gunman’s defense attorneys had argued for, contending Cruz suffered throughout his life from mental disorders and developmental delays.

Jurors are looking down or straight ahead as their recommendations for the fate of Parkland massacre gunman Nikolas Cruz are read aloud in court.

None of the jurors are looking in the direction of the victims’ families, some of whom are visibly emotional. Cruz is sitting with his head down, showing no emotion.

The jury came to its decision on whether to sentence Cruz to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole this morning, soon after they began their second day of deliberations.

The jury has recommended life in prison on the initial counts against the Parkland massacre gunman. Their recommendation is still being read.

Nikolas Cruz is sitting with his head down, showing no emotion, as the jury’s recommendation is read in court.

The jury has recommended life in prison on the initial counts against the Parkland massacre gunman. Their recommendation is still being read.

The court is reading the underlying factors in the Nikolas Cruz trial before each sentencing recommendation is delivered. The names of the Parkland school shooting victims are being read in the order as they were shot by Cruz.

The families of the victims are visibly emotional as the decision is being read.

Fourteen-year-old Gina Montalto’s parents began clutching each other’s hands before the reading began, and they started crying through the reading. Fifteen-year-old Luke Hoyer’s mother was also crying.

Fourteen-year-old Jaime Guttenberg’s father and 14-year-old Alaina Petty’s mother were holding their heads in their hands.

Thirty-five-year-old geography teacher Scott Beigel’s stepdad wiped away tears and put his arm around the victim’s mother, who sat stone-faced.

Nikolas Cruz looks up during his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on August 22.

A jury is currently reading its decision on the sentence for the Parkland school shooter.

On the first counts, the jury has recommended Nikolas Cruz, 24, be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.

The jury is considering 17 counts for the 17 victims of the Parkland school massacre. On each count, the jury will either recommend Cruz be sentenced to life in prison or be sentenced to death. There are several counts that have not yet been read, and the jury could still recommend a death sentence on any of them.

After the news came down that the jury had reached a decision in the Nikolas Cruz trial, several teachers who survived the Parkland school shooting were able to send their students to other classrooms a few minutes before it was supposed to be read, so they could watch together, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School told CNN.

Those teachers are watching the coverage together inside a classroom in the school.

The jury’s decision in the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz is being read in court now. 

Each count is expected to take several minutes to read.

Cruz pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Valentine’s Day 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

The jury was tasked with deciding whether to recommend Cruz be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

As we wait for the jury’s sentencing decision for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz to be read, the seating section for the victim’s family is full — there’s no empty seat to be seen in the courtroom.

Three alternate jurors are also in the courtroom to hear the verdict.

Lead prosecutor Mike Satz is in there now, too.

Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill gives her closing argument in the penalty phase on Tuesday.

Lawyers for Nikolas Cruz are asking jurors to spare the life of the Parkland, Florida school shooter. Lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill asked jurors to sentence her client to life in prison, not the death penalty. She told the panel it’s the right thing to do during her closing arguments. 

McNeill wants jurors to separate Cruz the human being from the mass shooting that left 17 people dead. “What Nikolas Cruz did should make you angry and sad. There is nothing wrong with feeling those feelings,” she told them. 

McNeill said the State is playing on the jury’s emotions by showing them graphic videos and images from the February 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. “By showing you pictures and videos again, the state of Florida wants to put you in a place of hate, anger, and vengeance,” she said. 

Family members of some of the victims could be seen nodding their heads in disagreement as McNeill spoke.

McNeill appealed to the jury to have mercy on Cruz. “Giving mercy to Nikolas Cruz will say more about who you are, than it says about him,” she said. 

McNeill reminded jurors that this is a decision they can never take back.  

The defense’s case came to an unexpected end when – having called just 26 of 80 planned witnesses – public defenders assigned to represent Cruz abruptly rested, leading the judge to admonish the team for what she said was unprofessionalism, resulting in a courtroom squabble between her and the defense (the jury was not present).

Scherer went on to question Cruz about the decision to rest, making sure he had an opportunity to discuss it with his lawyers and understood it meant no one else, including his brother Zachary Cruz, would take the stand in his defense.

“Are you comfortable with the decision?” Scherer asked.

“Yes,” Cruz replied.

Defense attorneys would later file a motion to disqualify the judge for her comments, arguing in part they suggested the judge was not impartial and Cruz’s right to a fair trial had been undermined. Prosecutors disagreed, writing “judicial comments, even of a critical or hostile nature, are not grounds for disqualification.”

Scherer ultimately denied the motion.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz stands with Chief Assistant Public Defender David Wheeler as jurors enter the courtroom of Cruz's trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Related article Defense team unexpectedly rests its case in death penalty trial of Parkland school shooter | CNN

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s 1200 building has been sealed since the massacre on Feb. 14, 2018.

Jurors in the sentencing phase of the school shooter’s trial walked through the undisturbed scene, where the blood of the victims still stains classroom floors.

Bullet holes also mark the walls of the Parkland, Florida, school where Nikolas Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members.

A lock of dark hair remains on a floor more than four years after the body of a victim was taken away. Valentine’s Day gifts and cards are strewn about, as shards of glass crunched beneath of the feet of visitors.

Read more about this here:

Court deputies exit vans that transported jurors to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, to view the "1200 building," the crime scene where the 2018 shootings took place. This during the penalty phase in the trial of confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz who previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. Cruz waived his right to be present at the viewing.

Related article Frozen in horror: Notes from inside the Parkland school massacre site | CNN

Defense attorney Melisa McNeill holds a photograph of Nikolas Cruz's birth mother, Brenda Woodard, during her closing argument in the penalty phase on Tuesday.

The public defenders assigned to represent Cruz have asked the jury to take into account his troubled history, from a dysfunctional family life to serious mental and developmental issues, with attorney Melisa McNeill describing him earlier in the trial as a “damaged and wounded” person.

“His brain is broken,” she said during her opening statement in August. “He’s a damaged human being.”

Among the first witnesses was Cruz’s older sister, Danielle Woodard, who testified their mother, Brenda Woodard, used drugs and drank alcohol while pregnant with him – something McNeill said made his brain “irretrievably broken” through no fault of his own.

“She introduced me to a life that no child should be introduced to,” she said. “She had no regards for my life or his life.”

The defense also called teachers and educators who spoke to developmental issues and delays Cruz exhibited as a young child, including challenges with vocabulary and motor skills. Various counselors and psychiatrists also testified, offering their observations from years of treating or interacting with Cruz.

Read more about this here.

Assistant State Attorney Mike Satz gestures as if he is holding a rifle while giving his closing argument in the penalty phase on Tuesday.

The lengthy trial of Parkland massacre gunman Nikolas Cruz – jury selection began six months ago, in early April – saw prosecutors and defense attorneys present evidence of aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances, reasons Cruz should or should not be put to death.

The state has pointed to seven such aggravating factors — including that the killings were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, as well as cold, calculated and premeditated — lead prosecutor Michael Satz said during the trial. Other aggravating factors include the fact the defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to many people and that he disrupted a lawful government function – in this case, the running of a school.

Together, these aggravating factors “outweigh any mitigation about anything about the defendant’s background or character,” Satz said.

Underscoring their argument, prosecutors presented evidence showing the gunman spent months searching online for information about mass shootings and left behind social media comments sharing his express desire to “kill people.”

Some of his Google searches included broad, generic terms, like “murder” or “shooting people.” Others indicated he sought information on specific mass shootings and the people who carried them out. He also searched for a map of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, from which he’d been expelled, and for information on “how long does it take for a cop to show up at a school shooting.” And on YouTube, Cruz left comments like “Im going to be a professional school shooter,” and promised to “go on a killing rampage.”

Read more about this here

The jury in the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz has reached a decision. Its recommendation is expected to be read in court at 10:30 a.m. ET. 

They will recommend whether to recommend the Parkland school shooter be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table for closing arguments in the penalty phase in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday.

The jury in the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, 24, has reached a decision on whether to sentence the Parkland school shooter to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

The jury’s recommendation is expected to be read in court shortly. 

Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for the February 2018 shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in which 14 students and three school staff members were killed, and 17 others were injured. 

Students are brought out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting on February 14, 2018.

Jurors must be unanimous to recommend a death sentence under Florida law, or Cruz will receive a sentence of life in prison. If they recommend death, the ultimate decision on Cruz’s sentence would go to Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who could choose to either follow the jury’s guidance or sentence the gunman, now 24, to life in prison.