More than four years after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the procedure to determine the gunman’s fate began with the first day of jury selection. NBC 6’s Tony Pipitone reports
The second day of jury selection in the penalty phase trial for the Parkland school shooter was underway Tuesday.
The jurors will be deciding whether Nikolas Cruz receives the death penalty or life in prison without parole in the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Approximately 1,500 potential jurors, perhaps more, will be screened over the next few weeks as the pool is pared down to 12 plus eight alternates in a three-step process that will run through the end of May.
The process began Monday with more than 120 of the first 160 prospective jurors who filed through Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s courtroom dismissed. Most said it would be impossible for them to serve from June through September, when the sentencing trial was expected to take place.
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Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October, meaning the jury will only decide if he gets death or life without parole.
Click here for complete coverage of the Parkland jury selection
