FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Testimony in the Parkland mass shooting trial came to an end Thursday, and the judge presiding over the case told jurors to get ready for closing arguments on Tuesday.
Confessed gunman Nikolas Cruz is facing the death penalty for each of 17 counts of murder. He pleaded guilty to the killings nearly a year ago, willing to accept a life sentence without putting Broward County through the spectacle of a trial when his guilt was never really in doubt.
But prosecutors have insisted from the beginning that the defendant’s fate will be decided by a jury. A unanimous vote is required for a death sentence. A dissenting juror would have to vote no 17 times.
