the Walter Cronkite school of
journalism.
Host: A Florida jury has
recommended life in prison
without the possibility of
parole rather than the death
penalty for the gunmen behind
the parkland school shooting.
17 people were killed in 2018.
John yang has our report.
Reporter: The seven men and five
women on the jury unanimously
agreed that the massacre was
premeditated and especially
heinous, atrocious, or grow.
The jury foreman told a Miami TV
station that three jurors said
the aggravating factors did not
outweigh the mitigating factors.
The families of those killed
shall their heads in disbelief.
The father of a 14-year-old
expressed his anguish.
>> My beautiful Gina -- the
othe sons and daughters,
spouses and fathers, they were
the victims here.
Our justice system should have
been used to punish this shooter
to the fullest extent of the law
not as an act of revenge but to
protect our nation schools.
Reporter: To help us understand
the verdict, David Weinstein,
Florida defense attorney and
former prosecutor in Florida.
Were you surprised?
>> I was shocked.
Especially given how quickly
they came back.
That usually signifies it will
be a verdict in favor of the
stage.
I was as shocked as anyone.
Reporter: The three jurors who
said the aggravating factors did
not outweigh the mitigating
factors.
The major mitigating factor was
that the shooter had what is
called febrile alcohol spectrum.
Here is Melissa Mcneil in her
closing statement.
>> He did not have control over
who his biological mother was.
He had no control over how he
was conceived.
He had no control over how much
colt 45 that Brenda drank when
he was growing in her belly.
Reporter: What is your take on
that argument?
>> It resonated enough with at
least one and as many as three
of these jurors and it gave them
enough information to
justify their decision to vote
for life imprisonment.
She asked them to take that into
consideration.
Reporter: How much of a
challenge did that present to
the prosecution team in getting
a unanimous verdict for the
death penalty?
>> I think it was a task they
saw would be difficult.
They put forward a significant
number of aggravating factors
that they proved to the jury and
that the jury agreed to at the
way the statute is written is it
has to be unanimous.
They had to convince all 12 of
those people that the mitigation
was not enough to outweigh these
mitigating factors and they were
on 60 -- and they were
unsuccessful.
The defense that they had hit a
core with one or more of those
jurors because they stopped
short in the number of
witnesses.
Reporter: Explain to us why the
sentence was not imposed today.
It has been put off until
November first.
How much latitude does the judge
have?
>> She has no latitude.
This jury has recommended a life
sentence, that is the sentence
she must impose and that is why
she was going to impose it this
morning.
There are two portions of law --
a victims -- and a statutory
provision that requires a judge
here from victims and next of
kin before the judge imposes
sentence.
That is why November 1 will be
the day she hears from the 17
victims that survived and the
next of kin of the victims that
died and they will tell her what
they think the sentence should
be but she has no choice.
She cannot override the decision
of the jury.
Reporter: We heard a lot of
anger and frustration from the
families of people killed in
this massacre.
As a prosecutor, you work with
these people, what do you say to
them after something like this?
>> This is the worst situation.
These people have suffered in a
way that none of us can tell
unless we have lost a loved one.
You have to tell them that this
is a process we have all put our
faith in and to the extent that
there is a small sliver of a
silver lining in this dark cloud
for them, this will end the
process.
There will be no appeals.
They will not have to relive the
death of their loved one through
the appellate process.
In terms of there being finality
, though it was not what they
had hoped for, it will be a
finality
for them as far as the court
system goes.
There is no way to tell someone
who has lost a loved one you
know how they feel.
You can tell them you have done
the job they have asked and
enabled you to do to the best of
your ability and they have to
put their trust in the 12
people.
Reporter: One more difficult day
out of so many for these
families.
David Weinstein, thank you so
much.
>> You are welcome.
♪♪