FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Jury selection in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting case entered the second of three phases Monday, with lawyers looking to weed out those whose views on the death penalty are too inflexible to be part of a fair trial.
Confessed gunman Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder, so the jury is being asked only to decide his punishment. A jury’s unanimous vote is required to sentence Cruz to death; otherwise he will be sentenced to life in prison.
The parents of two slain victims, Nicholas Dworet and Luke Hoyer, sat in the audience Monday, watching silently as prosecutor Mike Satz and defense lawyer Casey Secor asked their questions and listened to juror responses.
