In a shocking verdict the jury in the Parkland school shooting case did not unanimously recommend death for Nicholas Cruz in each of the 17 counts.
In 17 verdicts, the jury found over and over again the existence of aggravating factors, and the existence of some mitigating factors and that the aggravating factors DID NOT outweigh the mitigating factors and they did not recommend the death penalty in any of the counts.
Take from this what you may, but here is what we see:
There will be calls by politicians to allow judges to override jury recommendations for life.
There will be calls by politicians to go back to a less than unanimous requirement for a sentence of a death.
There will be calls by politicians to have people who are convicted of first degree murder to be automatically sentenced to death, with the defense required to rebut the presumption of death.
Put another way, we live in a society that reacts to public cases. The dozens of pedestrian death penalty cases where the defendant is sentenced to death are not reported. But when there is one outlier case in a public setting, politicians will act and will set policy not by reason and deliberation, but by public outrage.
This will be very bad tidings for the defense in death penalty cases for at least the next five years.
Other than life in prison for Cruz, nothing good will come of this. Of that you can be sure.
This is just a tragedy compounded on a tragedy.
There will be calls for the feds to pick up the case and go for death.
ReplyDeleteYou’re the Stephen A Smith of lawyers. Just dumb hot takes.
ReplyDeleteThis just in:
ReplyDeleteBreaking News after Cruz verdict.
It shall now be known as HANZY, COCO & SCHERER.
She is needed for diversity purposes and because she is the most beautiful judge in America. Wow, did she shine. Brilliance and magnificent looks - and she saved a life.
Good luck in the big house Nick. It’s tougher without an AR15 to deal with bullies.
To be honest, it is very sad and tragic. The deaths. The failure in the mental health care that could have been compassionately rendered to student Cruz. The horrendous role that opioids and addiction have upon pregnant moms.
Prison will be brutal. Very very sad.
This verdict will also guarantee that Miller and Graham will never be extended beyond a defendant who is older than 18 years of age, even though the neuroscience backs up such an extension. The public will have a conniption if the law changes and allows for Cruz to petition for judicial review and release.
ReplyDeleteThis case proves what SCOTUS recognized 50 years ago--the Death Penalty is imposed in an arbitrary and capricious manner and should be abolished.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
DeleteBullshit Rump. Killing is killing, and killing is wrong. When Florida kills, it is as evil, and maybe worse, than when murderers kill.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of the matter is that states with the death penalty have more murders than states without. That's because murder states are telling the citizens, "Hey, it is OK to kill. Life is cheap." You know who likes the death penalty? Beelzebub, Moloch, Chemos, Baal, Astarte, Thammuz, Dagon, Rimmon, Osiris, Isis, Belial, and of course Satan.
Here's how Satan works it. He preys on the victims natural lust for revenge. During the decades of litigation, he blows on the embers of hate, until they burst forth into a flower of evil. The victim is now a perpetrator, his soul has been lost. Now hell has more future inhabitants, the murderer, and his family.
Here's another aspect of why evil lurks in the death penalty; it substitutes man's judgment for God's. It cuts off the prospect of repentance. It is quite possible for the murderer to sincerely repent, to seek the lord's forgiveness and to be absolved of his murder in the sacrament of confession. State-sanctioned murder forecloses that option.
Are there times will killing is authorized? Certainly. Self-defense is a moral example of justified killing. Killing when it is necessary to save one's own life of the life of another. Thomas Aquinas and Augustine have reasoned that murder can be moral in the defense of a nation, in a war waged by a legitimate authority, for a just cause, and waged with the right intentions. England and the US in WWII; for example. But, there is no need to murder poor Mr. Cruz. Lock him up and throw away the key, but, no more murder. Killing Cruz is not going to do anything to bring those poor kids back.
Excellent comment but it also necessary to walk in the shoes of the affected, understand their pain and defer to their very legitimate concerns
DeleteThis is all a bit silly. If they had rendered a death sentence, we woul have had 15 to 20 years of expensive litigation resulting in a life sentence. The school, the teachers, the parents, the students, and everyone who came in contact with this kid knew he was crazy, but clearly, we should have given him the death penalty so that the wide net of responsibility does not have to ensnare anyone but Cruz.
ReplyDeleteOn top of everything else, we had a school, surrounded only by a chain ink fence with 12 buildings inside that would release emergency exits when a fire bell was sounded. My kids would not have gone there.
This case was a horrible, unnecessary event. It is time to learn from it and move on. It is only a shame that 17 innocents who had no guilt had to die.
Lots of people were extremely harsh towards his lawyer - some of the criticism was way out of bounds and personal. No doubt that her client is the worst of the worst but the PD's office did a hell of a job.
ReplyDeleteREPRINTED, WITH PERMISSION FROM THE CAPTAIN:
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts as I watched in disbelief as Judge Scherer read each of the 17 Verdict Forms:
I am sitting here listening to Judge Scherer reading each of the 17 counts and I am shocked. It appears that in less than seven hours of deliberation the jury has voted for LIFE in prison. The gallery in filled with crying parents who are shocked, outraged, and just beside themselves in this result. There are a few more verdict forms to be read but it is clear that at least one juror was convinced that the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating factors and thus the LIFE SENTENCE.
The Judge is personally reading each verdict form and quite frankly she seems pissed. I’d be interested in hearing from others listening to see if they feel the same way about the judge.
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Lead State Attorney Michael Satz, who came out of retirement to try this case and who spent the last four years and eight months putting his life into this case looks beside himself. Ashen grey. Shocked. Head down in disbelief. He ends his career not the way he had expected.
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Count 16. Two left to read. Each time the judge reads a verdict form the cameras focus on the family of that victim. Blank stares now. Just complete disbelief on their faces. They have nothing left and clearly feel like the jury has failed them. Each family members just shakes their head, no, back and forth, when hearing the verdict.
Cruz hasn’t really shown much emotion one way or the other.
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That’s it. 17 Counts. 17 LIFE SENTENCES. Boy is this verdict going to send shock waves around the country. If this case didn’t call out for a death sentence then why do we even have one in Florida. They will be the overriding question asked by many.
Clerk is now polling the jury. Each name of each juror being called out loud.
Judge now thanking the jury.
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I agree with Rumpole that the public will be screaming for a change in the law. Politicians in Tallahassee will be running over each other to be the first to file a bill amending the laws in some way to make it more difficult for the defense to secure a Life Sentence.
BTW: In the same courthouse in Broward County earlier this week, in a different courtroom, in an anonymous Death Penalty case, the jury returned a verdict of Death. There will be no news coverage reported on that case and the politicians will never hear about it either.
Cap Out .......
Kissimmee's comment above is spot on.
ReplyDeleteSeemed like a flawless presentation by the state and a reasoned, respectful defense. The lawyers did the system proud. I wonder if the Judges open hostility to the defense influenced the jury? The quick verdict was more unexpected than the result.
ReplyDeleteLOL! F u Satz.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know if more than one person voted for life.
ReplyDelete3:29 yep, I agree. But one way or another he'll get the death penalty. The Florida State Prison system is not very accommodating to those with the mental and emotional capacities of young Mr. Cruz.
ReplyDeleteThere is only one thing the Florida legislature could do to make the death penalty more likely--reinstate a parole system. If the alternative wasn't guaranteed life without parole it'd be more likely in close cases. Beyond that they can talk all they want but the juror unanimity requirement comes from the US Supreme Court and there is nothing they can do to make the death penalty easier to attain in Florida that they haven't already done. Our current death penalty is as easy for the State to get as the US Supreme Court will allow. Could that change, possibly, but not because of anything a Florida legislator or Florida judge does.
ReplyDelete"If this case didn’t call out for a death sentence then why do we even have one in Florida. They will be the overriding question asked by many."
ReplyDeleteAre you a lawyer Captain? Have you ever handled a capital case? I am a lawyer but have not handled a capital case. But there seemed to be significant evidence that Cruz, from an early age, was deeply disturbed and mentally ill. The jury weighed this evidence with the utter heinousness of these murders and exercised mercy.
We don't execute a person because the case "cries out for the death penalty." You should know better.
Satz pulled a Marcia Clarke. So impressed by his own view of the case he lost the forrest for the trees. Stay retired sir.
The jury's decision basically recognizes that this child should not have been born, but since he was, society must protect itself against him without brutalizing itself.
ReplyDeleteThe lead public defender had a thankless task but did an amazing job--with all odds stacked against her. You can despise Cruz, feel horrible for the victims, and still admire her service.
ReplyDelete11-1 vote for death I heard? But let's ultra extrapolate over what one random unknown person decided. Cases go on, the jury system is what it is, a bit of a crapshoot. That one jurors decision is final and cannot be appealed. It's over.
ReplyDelete9-3
DeleteShould have agreed to the transfer to Bumfuck county. PDs did a good job. Judge was fucking awful. Case would have been reversed if they chose death because of the courts numerous errors and mismanagement. The families’ anger is understandable. I hope they realize down the line what the appeals would have looked like….it would have been terrible for them to go through.
ReplyDeleteHe will be dead sooner with his life sentence
ReplyDeleteCruz had about as much mitigation as anyone could ever possibly have. I mean his life from day one was a complete horror show. Life without parole option sealed the deal, otherwise he'd have to be put down, he's a complete socio.
ReplyDelete@840 - no, it's not (at least the part about deferring). Or better said, their is nothing legitimate about killing for revenge, and so deference to that concern is not legitimate and does not require any deference.
ReplyDeleteYou never watched Hard to Kill. Or, A Time to Kill, The Jungle Book, Out For Justice, Commando, A Nightmare On Elm Street, or any Bruce Lee movies.
DeleteJohn Paul II on capital punishment:
ReplyDeleteThe new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. . . . I renew the appeal I made . . . for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.
—Pope John Paul II Papal Mass, St. Louis, Missouri, January 27, 1999
https://www.usccb.org/resources/churchs-anti-death-penalty-position
Whatever you may think about the outcome, lead APD Melisa McNeill and the rest of her team did an incredible job against impossible odds. Kudos to the Broward PDO.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteIt was a 9-3 vote. Herald spoke to the foreperson.
ReplyDeleteThe foreman told the news that 3 voted for life. As 9:14 said, Cruz had about as much mitigation as you could possibly have, as it had the most aggravating factors.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the foreperson there were 3 votes for life. I wonder if the prosecution ever prepared the families of the victim for this being a possible outcome based on the mitigation and unanimity requirement. Trials always drag victims and their families through hell in a DP case with the idea of closure with a death verdict but that closure never comes. A plea to life early on would have spared a lot of heartache and allowed Cruz to accept responsibility for his actions. No one wins in DP cases even when they get what they ask for.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTo 5:28 PM
First, yes and yes.
Second, you misread my comment. I said:
“ If this case didn’t call out for a death sentence then why do we even have one in Florida. That (*) will be the overriding question asked by many."
Did you listen to the public statements made by the overwhelming majority of the victim families? Did you listen to the statements made by the politicians? The reporters? I could go on. Nearly every one of them were saying the exact same thing, which was:
If this case didn’t call out for a death sentence then why do we even have one?”
My point was, as you probably now see, I was commenting on what I predicted would be the reaction to the jury’s decision. I never said that I agree with that proposition. In fact, I have never been a proponent of the death penalty. In my opinion it is handed out in an arbitrary and capricious manner. Both by the state in their decisions on who is eligible and by juries in the rendering of their decisions. Numerous studies have proven those facts over and over again.
Cap Out …….
We are both shocked by this verdict. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have suffered so much. But we live and agree to abuse by a jury system. It wasn’t 11-1. It was more like 9-3. And that means life.
ReplyDeleteWillem de Kooning or Jasper Johns?
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts. Favorite?
ReplyDeleteThe Captain Reports:
You newest County Court Judge is …
As you may know, County Court Judge Elijah Levitt resigned from the bench. He is moving his residence to Broward County and therefore no longer is eligible to sit in Miami-Dade County.
The JNC for the 11th Circuit conducted interviews and they sent six names to Gov. DeSantis today. Those names include:
Gilberto Barreto
Christopher Green
Scott Janowitz
Heloiza Correa
Kevin Hellmann
Jeffrey Kolokoff
Yes, two of the finalists include current Judges Janowitz and Kolokoff who both lost their elections in August. Their current term ends on January 3rd but either of them have the chance to basically remain on the bench and would then have to run again in two years.
The Gov has 60 days to name the winner.
Cap Out …….
Special K baby Kolokoff all the way.
ReplyDeleteWhen does the pool begin on the year of this asshole's death? Will he be in his own cell 23 hour lockdown for his safety?
ReplyDelete