Month: November 2022

The gunman who murdered 17 people at a Florida high school was formally sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. After a months-long trial, a jury in October recommended Nikolas Cruz, 24, be sentenced to life in prison for the February 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he killed 14 students and three school staff members

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced Cruz  to serve a life sentence with no possibility of parole for each of the 17 counts of murder to which he had pleaded guilty, with the sentences to run consecutively. Scherer also imposed a sentence of life in prison with a minimum of 20 years to serve on 14 of the 17 counts of attempted murder, and life without the possibility of parole for the remaining three counts of attempted murder.

Last month, in a 9-3 vote, a jury leaned toward sending Cruz to death row, but Florida law dictates that anything less than a unanimous vote automatically shifts the sentence to life without parole. Ahead of the sentencing, survivors and families of those killed in the Parkland shooting made victim-impact statements. For two days, parents, wives, siblings and other relatives of slain victims and some of the surviving wounded addressed Cruz face to face.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, while the defense had asked for life in prison. The jury’s decision on Oct. 13 shocked family members of victims who were visibly distraught by the verdict. During the the three-month penalty trial, the defense argued that Cruz is mentally ill and his condition led him to the 2018 Valentine’s Day rampage in which he wielded a semi-automatic rifle at his former school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Cruz will be taken within days to the Florida Department of Corrections, before he is assigned to a maximum-security prison in the state.

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Three children were among fourteen people shot in a drive-by shooting in Chicago on Monday night. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference that no deaths were reported in connection with the shooting, and an additional person was struck by a vehicle while attempting to escape the scene.

The victims range in age from 3 to 56, with two in critical condition and a woman of an unknown age in unknown condition suffering a gunshot wound to the torso, police said. Of the children shot, one 3-year-old boy is in serious condition suffering a gunshot wound to both legs, an 11-year-old girl is in serious condition suffering a gunshot wound to the leg, and a 13-year-old boy is in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the torso and leg, according to police. The victims have not been identified.

Police said Tuesday afternoon that the shooter remains at large, and the incident is under investigation. The shooting occurred at the intersection of California Avenue and Polk Street at around 9:30 p.m. in the area of Garfield Park, and was partially captured on surveillance video. Brown said: “We know it’s a drive-by. We know it happens in just a few seconds. It begins and then it’s over, about three seconds the car is pulling out after driving by and shooting randomly, really, into the crowd.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot condemned the violence in a statement, and called for the public to come forward with information on potential suspects. Said Lightfoot:  “The Chicago Police Department has been hard at work through the night to bring the perpetrators to justice. Chicago Police Department detectives have identifying video, are talking with victims and witnesses, and have taken other investigative measures to track down those responsible. We are also coordinating with community organizations to support the victims and their families in their time of crisis.”

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On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected Sen. Lindsey Graham’s request to block a grand jury subpoena for testimony in an investigation into attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Graham was among the notable Republicans to pressure him to toss out mail-in ballots in an attempt to overturn the election results, according to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Graham asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing his conversation with Raffensperger was protected speech or debate.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas protected Graham from testifying last week, to which Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis replied with a response to Graham’s request, noting it was crucial to hear his testimony: “While the harm to the public’s interest in the timely and effective resolution of this investigation would be certain, Senator Graham faces no danger of harm should a stay be denied.” The District of Northern Georgia’s 11th Circuit Court of Appeals then ruled Graham must testify and the questioning of the senator must be kept specifically to his efforts to persuade Raffensperger on the election results.

The Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts decision, issuing an order on Tuesday stating “a stay or injunction is not necessary to safeguard the Senator’s Speech or Debate Clause immunity”. Graham is currently scheduled to testify on Nov. 17.

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