Lawyers for Nikolas Cruz are asking jurors to spare the life of the Parkland, Florida school shooter. Lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill asked jurors to sentence her client to life in prison, not the death penalty. She told the panel its the right thing to do during her closing arguments.
McNeill wants jurors to separate Cruz the human being from the mass shooting that left 17 people dead. What Nikolas Cruz did should make you angry and sad. There is nothing wrong with feeling those feelings, she told them.
McNeill said the State is playing on the jurys emotions by showing them graphic videos and images from the February 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. By showing you pictures and videos again, the state of Florida wants to put you in a place of hate, anger, and vengeance, she said.
Family members of some of the victims could be seen nodding their heads in disagreement as McNeill spoke.
McNeill appealed to the jury to have mercy on Cruz. Giving mercy to Nikolas Cruz will say more about who you are, than it says about him, she said.
McNeill reminded jurors that this is a decision they can never take back.
