The shooter who killed 17 students and staff in the Parkland school shooting has been officially sentenced to life in prison.
Jury in Florida Vote to spare Nikolas Cruz from the death penalty last month, instead of choosing life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Last year, the 24-year-old pleaded guilty to premeditated murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – one of the deadliest school shootings in US history.
The jury in Cruz’s three-month sentencing trial voted 9-3 to sentence him to death last month, but Florida law requires unanimity for the sentence to apply.
On Wednesday, Judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced him to 17 consecutive life sentences for the February 14, 2018 massacre and another 17 for attempted murder of those he injured.
Relatives call murderers
The sentence was delivered after relatives of the victims confronted him for more than two days.
Anne Ramsay, the mother of 17-year-old Helena Ramsay, told him he was “pure evil”.
Inez Hixon, the daughter-in-law of athletics director Chris Hixon, called him a “domestic terrorist”.
Anne Ramsay holds a photo of her daughter, Helena
Debbie Hixon holds a photo of her husband, Chris Hixon
David Alhadeff, Alyssa Alhadeff’s uncle, told Cruz he deserved a “chance to disappear”.
“You deserve the chance to absorb the look of horror on your face as you leave this courtroom,” he said.
“You deserve the chance to know that justice will prevail at some point, leaving you excruciatingly miserable, minute by minute, day by day.”
The judge commended the families and wounded soldiers who testified, calling them strong, gracious and patient.
“I know you’ll be fine, because you have each other,” Judge Scherer said.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas students days after the deadly attack
Cruz, an expelled student, was 19 when he used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 14 students and three staff members.
He apologized for his crimes and asked to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole to save his lies to help others.
The massacre has led to new calls for tighter gun control in the US, which gained more support this year following the shooting deaths of 19 children and two teachers. at a school in Uvalde, Texas and another shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New Yorkkilled 10 people.
