Manuel Oliver, the father of Parkland victim Joaquin, was not in court when a jury decided the gunman should get a life sentence and not the death penalty.
Instead, one of the most outspoken Parkland parents is currently on a cross-country school bus tour to bring the message of gun reform to the nation.
“I’ve been trying to find where is it that the system is going to be on our side," Oliver told NBC 6 while he was in Arkansas. "When is it that Joaquin will have rights? It hasn’t happened for almost five years, and it did not happen yesterday [Thursday]. I think we as a society made a huge mistake by allowing this to happen. In some way, we are letting shooters know that they can get away with murder and that is a risky message."
On Thursday, the judge spent nearly an hour reading the jury's decision for each of the 17 victims of the 2018 massacre. Family members sitting in the courtroom became emotional as it became apparent the jury was not going to recommend the death penalty.
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Oliver was hoping it'd be different for Joaquin.
"By the way, that’s a really painful experience," he said. "You go through all these victims, I know all of the parents, and then it’s going to be your turn at some point, and that’s when it hits you really hard. And that it was the same thing. That really broke me."
Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. A juror told NBC 6 that one of the jurors was adamant about a life sentence from the beginning — a claim that the adamant juror denied in a letter to the judge.
Parkland School Tragedy
“I think that person was not qualified from the beginning and he or she knew it but we did it. Now look at this,” Oliver said. “This guy is going to be in jail, making friends and eating and taking showers and watching the Super Bowl, maybe. I don’t know the conditions, but I do know that my son will not be able to do that ever again so it’s a lot. It’s a lot to process."
That is why Oliver is currently on a cross-country school bus tour that began in Seattle and is ending in Florida. He is meeting with gun reform groups and victims of gun violence, and is making stops at places impacted by this type of crime, mobilizing change one mile at a time.
The trial began back in July. Oliver was not present for the proceedings, telling NBC 6 that he can't trust himself to be in the same room as the gunman.
"I can do things like this one and I will handle any consequence," he said. "I can stand up to the president and handle any consequences, but I cannot do anything inappropriate if it’s risking other parents and if it might bring consequences to other parents.”
While he was not in court, Oliver watched every single day of the proceedings and learned horrific details of his son’s death he hadn’t known before.
"I wanted (the gunman) to die," he said. "I said it several times. I don’t regret having that feeling, but, you know what, it’s not my call."
Joaquin's mother, Patricia, and his sister, Andrea, spoke soon after the verdict, disappointed with the outcome. They also had a plea to the survivors to not let the nightmare of that fateful day hold them back and consume their life and futures.
"The worst thing that has ever happened to all of us is losing our loved ones," Oliver said. "I know what that day that can change your life is, and that was February 14, 2018, that was not yesterday at all, of course, I can move on."
