FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Broward County jury showed mercy Thursday to a heartless killer who didn’t know the meaning of the word as he stalked the hallways of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School more than four years ago, viciously ending the lives of 17 innocent people.
Nikolas Cruz, 24, deserves to be punished for those murders, the jury of five women and seven men decided after deliberating for a mere seven hours. Maybe he deserves to be villainized, have his name go down in infamy. But he doesn’t deserve to die, they decided in a split decision that took the judge a suspenseful hour to read.
No jurors looked at Cruz as they entered the courtroom. One man on the jury held his hand to his head, as if the decision took a toll.
