Editor’s note: Prosecutors seeking the death penalty against confessed Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz are tasked with convincing a jury to vote for execution over a life sentence. They are presenting graphic testimony to the jury, some of which comes in the form of video that is being withheld from the general public in compliance with privacy laws protecting victims. A handful of journalists, including South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter Rafael Olmeda, have been allowed to watch these videos in private. Their observations are shared with every media outlet covering the trial. This article, which recounts some of the disturbing evidence the jury must consider in its deliberation, is based in part on those videos. Reader discretion is advised.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nearly two dozen strangers swore an oath to be fair, to put their emotions aside and follow the law in deciding whether the defendant sitting 25 feet away lives or dies. He is at their mercy.
In court, he rarely looks up. He sits hunched at the defense table between two of his lawyers, often scribbling on a notepad and occasionally exchanging words with one of his lawyers. He avoids making eye contact with most witnesses and conspicuously resists looking at the screens in front of him, the monitors playing videos showing what he did at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.
