"You are a monster," victims' families confront Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz at sentencing hearing
FORT LAUDERDALE - Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz's two-day sentencing hearing got underway Tuesday with the families of the 17 people he murdered and those who survived the shooting getting their chance after almost five years to address him directly about the devastation he brought to their lives.
Debra Hixon — the wife of athletic director Chris Hixon, a Navy veteran who died trying to stop the February 14th, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — was the first to address Cruz. The killer wore a bright red jail jumpsuit and showed no emotion from behind a face mask.
"Christopher Brent Hixon was an extraordinary man. He was a father, he was a husband, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a godfather, and a friend to many. He was stolen from us by an unimaginable act that you planned and executed. You stole him from us and you did not receive the justice you deserved. There is no mitigating circumstance that will ever outweigh the heinous and cruel way you stole him from us," she told him.
Chris Hixon was wounded and fell to the floor, where Cruz shot him again. He spent more than 10 minutes trying to get back on his feet before he died.
"You were given a gift, a gift of grace and mercy — something you did not show to any of your victims," Debra Hixon told Cruz. "I wish nothing for you today. After today, I don't care what happens to you. You'll be sent to jail, you'll begin your punishment, you'll be a number, and for me, you will cease to exist."
Family members and a teacher told Cruz they were disappointed in the jury's sentencing recommendation, which will send him to prison for life, instead of putting him to death.
"We hope that you, the monster who did this to our son, endure a painful existence in your remaining days. Whatever pain you experience in prison unfortunately will be a fraction of what Ben endured," said Eric Wikander, the father of student Ben Wikander, who has undergone seven surgeries.
David Robinovitz, the grandfather of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, referred to Cruz not by his name but as "Parkland murderer," saying while the shooter "won for now," one day he will die.
"At that time, Parkland murderer, it is my hope that you go somewhere to meet your maker," Robinovitz said. "And, Parkland murderer, I hope your maker sends you directly to hell to burn for the rest of your eternity."
Stacey Lippel, a wounded teacher, told Cruz she was "broken and altered."
"Because of you, I check for all exits wherever I am," Lippel said. "Because of you, I think of the worst-case scenario for myself and my family. Because of you, I will never feel safe again," Lippel said. "I have no forgiveness in my heart for you. You are a monster with no remorse, and every breath you take is a breath wasted."
Some of the families verbally attacked Cruz's public defenders, accusing them of misleading three of the 12 jurors into believing his birth mother's excessive drinking had left him brain damaged and unable to control himself. Some hoped that their consciences would always haunt them forever and would experience the pain they have felt, with at least one parent mentioning the attorneys' children.
"The legal system should protect and impart justice, justice, justice," Patricia Oliver said, leaning over the lectern toward the defense attorneys and accusing them of "shameful, despicable behavior." Cruz wounded her 17-year-old son Joaquin in the leg and then tracked him into a bathroom alcove. There, Cruz fatally shot her son in the head as he raised his hand to protect himself.
"If this, the worst mass shooting to go to trial, does not deserve the death penalty, what does?" she said.
"This creature has no redeemable value," said Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son Alex died when he was shot through a classroom window. Speaking at Cruz but refusing to say his name, he said he hopes "other prisoners you will encounter in your new life will inflict that pain upon you, hopefully 17 times over again, until you are screaming for mercy, just like your victims."
Schachter said that it was his birthday and that when he blew out his cake's candles Tuesday night, he would wish Cruz a painful death — and would every year until it happens.
Lead defense attorney Melissa McNeill eventually asked Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer to stop the families from attacking her and her colleagues directly, saying they had worked within the parameters of Cruz's constitutional rights in defending him.
"I did my job, and every member of this team did our job, and we should not personally be attacked for that, nor should our children," McNeill said, drawing a murmur from where the families sat.
Prosecutor Carolyn McCann told Scherer that the victims have the right under state law and the Constitution to "express themselves and be heard."
When McNeill tried to respond to McCann, telling the judge she knew the parents were violating court decorum, Scherer stopped her. The two have had a testy and sometimes hostile relationship since pretrial hearings.
"Stop suggesting that I know that something is improper," Scherer said, saying she had heard enough. She took no action against the families.
On Wednesday, Scherer will formally sentence Cruz to life in prison without parole. She has no other option as the jury in his recently concluded penalty trial could not unanimously agree that the 24-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student deserved a death sentence.
One family member who chose not to speak directly to Cruz is Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was shot in the back as she tried to flee.
He tweeted Tuesday that it won't change anything if he addresses "the monster" who murdered his daughter, the defense team he believes "gave up its humanity" to defend him or the teacher he says faked heroism.
"The reality is that I will still visit Jaime at the cemetery and the monsters fate will not change. It has already been decided. With that decision made, the monster is out of my head," Guttenberg wrote.
He said he will think of Cruz only two more times — when he watches him being sentenced and "when I read news reporting of the prison justice that he will eventually receive."
Cruz's attorneys say he is not expected to speak. He apologized in court last year after pleading guilty to the murders and attempted murders - but families told reporters they found the apology self-serving and aimed at garnering sympathy.
That plea set the stage for a three-month penalty trial that ended October 13th with the jury voting 9-3 for a life sentence - jurors said those voting for life believed Cruz is mentally ill and should be spared. Under Florida law, a death sentence requires unanimity.
Prosecutors had argued that Cruz planned the shooting for seven months before he slipped into a three-story classroom building, firing 140 shots with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle down hallways and into classrooms. He fatally shot some wounded victims after they fell. Cruz said he chose Valentine's Day so it could never again be celebrated at Stoneman Douglas.
Cruz's attorneys never questioned the horror he inflicted, but focused on their belief that his birth mother's heavy drinking during pregnancy left him brain damaged and condemned to a life of erratic and sometimes violent behavior that culminated in the massacre - the deadliest mass shooting to go to trial in U.S. history.
Nine other people in the U.S. who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately after their attacks by suicide or police gunfire. The suspect in the 2019 massacre of 23 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, is awaiting trial.
