A jury will decide if the Parkland gunman gets the death penalty

A jury will decide if the Parkland gunman gets the death penalty

Transcript¹

More than four years after killing² 17 people and wounding 17 others at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Nikolas Cruz goes on trial Monday.

The troubled former student has already pleaded guilty to all charges. Jurors will decide whether he receives life in prison or the death penalty. Jury selection, beginning Monday, is expected to take weeks, but when arguments begin, the prosecution³ will take jurors through events that will likely already be familiar to them.

It's expected to be an intense, emotional trial. If the defense⁴ finds it too difficult to seat an impartial⁵ jury in Broward County, attorneys may ask the judge for a change of venue⁶ to another location in Florida. Legal experts say that carries its own risks though. In such a high-profile case, it may be hard to find jurors anywhere in the state who don't already have opinions.

What happened on Feb. 14, 2018

It was Valentine's Day in 2018 when the 19-year-old took an Uber to the high school in Parkland, not far from Fort Lauderdale. He had been expelled a year earlier and had a history of emotional and behavioral problems. Entering the building through an unlocked door, he began firing his AR-15-style rifle in the hallways and into classrooms.

After shooting dozens of people, Cruz left his weapon behind and escaped as part of the crowd evacuating⁷ the school. He was arrested soon afterward⁸ several blocks away.

He left 14 students and 3 adults dead and at least 17 others seriously injured.

"We heard bop, bop, bop, bop," said freshman⁹ Kelsey Friend a day after the shootings. She said her teacher, Scott Beigel, opened a classroom door to let her and other students inside. "I thought he was behind me, but he was not. He did, unfortunately, pass away."

Beigel was one of the 17 killed. The tragedy immediately raised questions about the law enforcement response to the shootings, about missed warning signs that Cruz was planning an attack and about laws that allowed a troubled teen to own a gun. The day after the shootings, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said those questions would have to wait. "Right now," he said, "the focus of the FBI and the Broward Sheriff's office is on the successful prosecution of this killer¹⁰."

Repercussions¹¹ beyond the gunman

The prosecution has moved slowly, but in the aftermath of the shootings, there were many other repercussions. Israel lost his job, removed by the governor after families of the victims and others accused him of incompetence¹² and negligence¹³ in his department's response to the shooting.

A group of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School responded by becoming nationally-known anti-gun violence activists¹⁴. In part because of their voices, Florida passed laws preventing people under 21 from buying rifles and allowing police to seize weapons from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

Faced with charges that they missed warning signs the gunman was dangerous, the FBI and the Broward School District separately agreed to big monetary¹⁵ settlements with the families of those killed and injured.

But for the families, their main focus has remained on the shooter and seeing him face justice. And for many, that means the death penalty. "He deserves every chance he gave my daughter and the 16 others," says Tony Montalto, the father of Gina Montalto, one of the 17 killed that day.

The sentencing phase

The trial that begins Monday is the sentencing phase, in which jurors will have two choices — they can give Cruz what the defense is asking for, life in prison, or what the prosecution says is the only acceptable sentence, death.

Last fall, the defense surprised many when Cruz decided¹⁶ to plead guilty. Appearing in court, he addressed the judge and the families of those he killed and injured. "I am very sorry for what I did and I have to live with it every day," he said. "And that if I would get a second chance, I would do everything in my power to try to help others." Families of the victims rejected the apology, calling it "irrelevant¹⁷" and "ridiculous."

"The prosecutor¹⁸ is going to argue that this was a totally evil, unnecessary and horrible act," says Stephen Harper, a longtime public defender¹⁹ and expert on death penalty cases in Florida. He says that with so many people killed and injured, this is an extremely difficult case for the defense. "The defense is going to argue that their client was seriously mentally ill."

There have been many pretrial motions and hearings about the type of experts and evidence the defense will be allowed to present on what they contend is Cruz's impaired²⁰ mental condition. Harper says that evidence may include electroencephalogram tests and other forms of brain scans.

He says, "His mother was apparently²¹ an alcoholic²² and a drug abuser. And in utero, he would have been exposed to very serious things that could have affected²³ clearly his mental capacity. So those things are very relevant."

The jury's sentencing decision must be unanimous. For the defense, that means finding one juror who may be swayed by evidence of mental illness.

Phil Reizenstein, a defense attorney and former prosecutor who has had many death penalty cases, says the heinous²⁴, premeditated nature of the mass shooting will be hard for the defense to overcome. The jury will see videos recorded by students of some of their classmates' last moments. And he says that they will hear eyewitness²⁵ testimony²⁶ of teachers and students who survived. "They're going to get on the stand and they're going to tell jurors what they felt," Reizenstein says, "their fear and their horror at seeing their friends murdered. That is going to be just bombshell testimony for the prosecution."

The jury will also hear statements from the families of those who were killed. Tony Montalto says he and his wife, Jennifer, will be there to talk about their daughter Gina, even though he acknowledges that it will be painful. "Every day is painful for us after our daughter was murdered," he says. "This cold, calculated and deliberate act deprived us of our beautiful and loving daughter."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

6 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

7 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

8 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

9 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

10 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

11 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

13 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

14 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

18 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

19 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

20 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

22 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

23 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

24 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

25 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

26 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。