Parkland School Shooter Penalty Phase Trial Pushed Back

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The sentencing phase trial for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz has been pushed back.

On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer set a tentative date for the first week of April.

Jury selection for the trial had been scheduled to begin February 21.

Scherer made the decision after prosecutors with the Broward State Attorney's Office said they needed more time to prepare.

The postponement comes just about two weeks before the four-year anniversary of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School which left 17 people dead and 17 injured.

Cruz pleaded guilty in October 2021 to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

Once jurors are selected, they will decide whether he is sentenced to death or to life in prison without parole.

For Cruz to be sentenced to death, the 12-member jury must unanimously agree. If one disagrees, he will receive a life sentence. Cruz's defense team has tried to get the death penalty taken off the table to no avail.

The trial is expected to last at least two months.

Scherer decided earlier to allow the victims' families to testify, rejecting an attempt by Cruz's attorneys to bar parents and others from speaking directly to the jury.

The attorneys argued that could result in "overly emotional displays" that would violate Cruz's right to a fair trial.

But Scherer agreed with prosecutors, who said the statements will be written in advance and given to Cruz's attorneys before the parents read them to the jurors. The defense will have an opportunity to object if they believe anything that will be said would be unfairly inflammatory, the judge and prosecutors said. Scherer had already ordered that the parents or others cannot call Cruz such phrases as "animal" or "that thing."

The trial has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and arguments over what evidence and testimony will be permitted.