Another juror who voted against sentencing Nikolas Cruz to death wrote to the judge saying that “some jurors became extremely unhappy” once she mentioned how she'd be voting. Prosecutors are asking for an investigation into the threat allegations.
Prosecutors are asking for an investigation after a juror claimed she was threatened with violence during deliberations over Nikolas Cruz’s sentence in the Parkland school massacre case.
The jury recommended life in prison for the convicted shooter Thursday after three of the 12 jurors voted against the death penalty. Cruz pleaded guilty to murdering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
In an emergency hearing held Friday, the prosecution asked Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s permission to investigate whether any of the jurors felt threatened.
“The sheriff’s office has jurisdiction. They’ve been made aware of the situation. Certainly if that’s a matter they feel is appropriate for an investigation, that’s what they should do,” Scherer said.
A second juror who voted for life in prison wrote a letter to Scherer saying that the deliberations were “tense” and “some jurors became extremely unhappy” once she mentioned how she’d be voting.
"I would like to notify you that [redacted], one of the jurors in this case, heard jurors who voted for the death penalty stating that I had already made up my mind on voting for life before the trial started. This allegation is untrue,” the letter said, in part.
Furious family members of the victims have denounced the jury’s sentencing recommendation, which spared Cruz’s life.
“I don’t think there was a full, conscious deliberation to attempt to come to a conclusion, when somebody says, ‘Nope, I’ve already made up my mind. There’s no way I’m voting for death,’” Tony Montalto, the father of Parkland victim Gina Montalto, told Inside Edition.
A sentencing date for Nikolas Cruz has been set for Nov. 1.
