Florida high school shooter's penalty trial set to begin

FILE - Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown at the defense table during jury selection in the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history ever to make it to trial is finally about to go before a jury. Opening statements are scheduled Monday, July 15, in Cruz's penalty trial.

Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder; the only thing he's contesting is the death penalty sentence that prosecutors are seeking. The jurors can only sentence him to death or life without the possibility of parole for the Feb. 14, 2018, shootings. The trial for the former Stoneman Douglas student, expected to last about four months, was supposed to begin in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and legal fights delayed it.

If lead defender Melisa McNeill gives her statement, she will likely emphasize that Cruz is a young adult with lifelong emotional and psychological problems who allegedly suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and abuse. The goal would be to temper the jurors’ emotions as they hear the prosecution's case, making them more open to considering the defense's arguments later.

After openings, which are limited to 90 minutes each, the prosecutors' first witness will be called. They have not said who that will be.

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