A Broward judge will decide this week whether another jury will walk through the crime scene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were murdered on Valentine’s Day 2018.
Circuit Judge Martin Fein listened to arguments Monday morning from defense lawyer Mark Eiglarsh, who represents former Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson and wants a jury to tour the outside of the building. Arguing for the state, prosecutor Steven Klinger said if jurors tour the outside of the building, they should also see the inside.
Peterson is accused of taking cover instead of taking action when gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire in the freshman building of the Stoneman Douglas campus in Parkland. He’s accused of seven counts of child neglect with great bodily harm, a second-degree felony.
The site of the massacre had been preserved so that the jury deciding Cruz’s fate in 2022 could tour the crime scene and see firsthand the “heinous, atrocious and cruel” nature of the crime for which the state was seeking to put Cruz to death.
Three jurors rejected the death penalty against Cruz, who was sentenced to life in prison.
In Peterson’s case, his lawyer said, the severity of Cruz’s crime is not an issue. Peterson’s defense hinges on whether the jury in his upcoming trial believes he did not know from his vantage point where the gunshots were coming from — he couldn’t have pursued and confronted the shooter if he did not know the shooter’s location.
If the jury is compelled to view the crime scene, it would be unfair to Peterson, Eiglarsh said. “Unless they are sociopaths or in a coma, they will be forever traumatized by what they see in that building,” said Eiglarsh, who has walked through the scene.
Klinger said the state’s case will be hampered if the jury is not allowed to see where Cruz stood while firing dozens of rounds of ammunition from his AR-15-style rifle, comparing it to other locations on campus and Peterson’s position.
“That’s a significant part of this case,” Klinger said. “Those spatial issues are important.”
Fein said he would issue a written ruling this week on whether the jury will visit the campus and, if so, whether they will be allowed inside the 1200 building.
Demolition of the building cannot be scheduled until after Peterson’s trial.
Jury selection begins May 31.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Twitter @rolmeda.