Local leaders respond to Parkland jury recommendation of life in prison
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright:
"Our district understands that the jury's recommendation in the sentencing phase of the trial will impact our students, staff, families and the entire community. Our thoughts and support are with the families of the victims of the tragedy. We have mental health professionals at each school in the district. Additional personnel are being deployed to schools throughout our District and stand ready to assist those in need."
Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor:
"The dreadful, horrific crimes perpetrated by this school mass shooter in Parkland on Valentine's Day of 2018 have changed our community and will continue to impact all of us forever more. The parents and families of the schoolchildren and the staff members who were massacred lost so much and our hearts are with them. We hope they know that all of us lost 17 wonderful people that day and that our world is a poorer and sadder place without them. To the survivors, please know that you are not forgotten in this and that we respect and salute your courage in all that you have endured.
"When I was elected and sworn in as Broward State Attorney, I promised that I would uphold the law and I agreed that this community – not one person sitting in an office – should hear all of the facts and all of the evidence and that this community should make the decision about whether this mass killer should get the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"We thank the jurors for their service and for taking on this difficult task. We thank the law enforcement officers who went into the school. We thank the law enforcement officers who arrested the killer and investigated the crimes.
"We thank our prosecutors and we thank the whole team from our office who worked on this case with the passion and dedication for truth and for justice that is the hallmark of our team. We thank the courthouse staff. We thank the witnesses. We thank the victims' families and the survivors for everything.
"I thank everyone who worked to ensure that the whole truth – the full story – was told about this tragedy with full transparency. To my knowledge, this is the first time that the full story of a community's loss and all of the relevant facts have been told about a mass shooting of this magnitude.
"We have not shied away from telling all of the horror, all of the loss, all of the devastation, all of the pain, all of the facts, all of the truth. We hope that, while there is no such thing as closure, this will bring some measure of finality and justice to this terrible chapter."
Zachary Cruz, brother of Nikolas Cruz:
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of my brother's crimes. In the coming days and weeks, I will have much to say about the Broward State Attorney's office and that Broward School division. Today is not the day for that. Today is a day for the victims to find peace in knowing that this legal process is finally over.
"My brother was sentenced to life in prison today. While many people wanted death, I know my brother will be forced to live with what he did for what may be a very long time. In the long run, that may be a fate worse than death, and it is the fate he deserves for committing heinous crimes against innocent people."
Archbishop Thomas Wenski:
"A sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole is a severe and just punishment that also will allow Nikolas Cruz to continue to reflect on the grave harm he caused. While not excusing his actions, it is clear that multiple and systemic breakdowns within family services, police, and the public school system failed him and the rest of us as well.
"Seemingly nobody recognized the inadequacies in Mr. Cruz's life or the state of his mental health. His numerous threats of violence that preceded the mass murder were addressed inadequately, if at all.
"Willful murder is a heinous crime; it cries to God for justice. Yet, while God certainly punished Cain, history's first murderer, God did not require Cain's life for having spilt Abel's blood. ... Human dignity — that of the convicted as well as our own — is best served by not resorting to the extreme and unnecessary punishment of capital punishment.
"Modern society has the means to protect itself without the death penalty.
"There is no question that Mr. Cruz's actions were heinous. The 17 victims who died are forever gone to us; and those who were wounded still struggle to recover fully - both physically and emotionally. Their families and all those who fearfully witnessed this abhorrent act of bloodshed will forever be scarred by it."
Sen. Rick Scott:
"There are few days that go by without my thoughts turning to the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. On February 14, 2018, a monster took 17 innocent lives and forever changed the Parkland community, the State of Florida and our nation.
"Now, more than four years after that horrific day, I know the pain felt by the families and loved ones of those we lost is still difficult for them to bear. I remain close with these families and know that many of us find it hard to understand how such brutal crimes could be met with anything but the most severe punishment allowed under our laws.
"While I have faith in our justice system, today's decision is not what many of us expected. I can only pray that as each phase of this painful process concludes, those whose hearts were torn by this monster find some measure of closure, and that our Heavenly Father delivers to them the peace of knowing that they will one day be reunited in His kingdom with those we so tragically lost."
Charlie Crist, candidate for governor of Florida:
"There are crimes for which the only just penalty is death. The Parkland families and community deserved that degree of justice.
"I will continue to pray for healing for the families and every person impacted by this tragedy."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis:
"The only appropriate sentence for the massacre of 17 innocent people is the death penalty. That the jury had a single holdout refuse to authorize a capital sentence represents a miscarriage of justice.
"My prayers are with the Parkland families."