Sentencing the Parkland killer | Day 8

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Judge Elizabeth Scherer speaks with, from left; Assistant State Attorney Carolyn McCann, Assistant Public Defender Tamara Curtis, and Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill during a break in jury pre-selection in the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Here are the updates from Day 8 in the sentencing trial of confessed Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, 23; a jury will decide if he will be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole. He pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

• Courtroom tension: Judge Elizabeth Scherer commented Tuesday that she felt the potential jurors were belligerent and getting mouthy. A panel of 70 potential jurors was dismissed after at least three potential jurors made threatening gestures and comments toward the shooter after stepping into the courtroom. The three jurors were asked to leave, and some applause broke out when the rest of that panel was dismissed. The male juror who started the incident shook his head and said, “This is terrible. This terrible,” as he was escorted out. In the hallway and in front of other potential jurors waiting for the elevator, the man muttered to a sheriff’s deputy, “You just traumatized us all.”
• Jurors: Within moments of being sworn in, a juror on the second panel of the afternoon was pulled from the courtroom because she started crying. Eleven jurors from that panel of 70 were asked to fill out questionnaires, the next stage of jury selection. Also Tuesday, for the second time since jury selection began in early April, one potential juror said he knew the shooter.
• Medical issues: Scherer has dismissed several jurors whose family members have serious medical issues, instead of making them wait or having them return to the jury room to be considered for other trials. One woman on Tuesday said her husband just learned he was approved to receive a kidney transplant. “That’s great news,” Scherer said before letting the woman leave the courtroom with a deputy. Another woman said needs to be available to care for her husband who has been hospitalized multiple times recently. She said her husband even had to drive himself home from out-patient surgery Tuesday because she was called to jury duty.

• Victim’s parents in court: Annika and Mitch Dworet made their first appearance in court since jury selection originally began on April 4. The parents of slain victim Nicholas Dworet and his brother Alex, who was wounded, spoke to prosecutors but did not take questions about why they decided to visit the courtroom Tuesday.
• Quote of the day: “I just want to break down. I want to cry. I want to curse that little P.O.S.,” said juror who was removed.
• Looking ahead: Jury selection continues Wednesday. It’s also the deadline for the defense to present their argument for keeping previously screened jurors thrown out by the judge.

Go to SunSentinel.com/parkland-shooting for complete coverage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy and ongoing coverage of the sentencing trial.

Sun Sentinel staff writers Rafael Olmeda and Eileen Kelley contributed to this report.