FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — His actions were indefensible. Inexcusable, his lawyer said Monday.
But it’s time for a Broward jury to shift its focus, at least for a while, from the murders committed Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to the flawed, broken person who committed them — confessed gunman Nikolas Cruz.
In an 86-minute opening statement, Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill walked a tightrope, portraying Cruz as a victim from the womb, where his prenatal nutrition consisted of “Colt 45, Cisco wine, crack cocaine and cigarettes,” while making it clear that no one is trying to justify the 17 murders he committed on the Parkland campus.
