Head bowed, Florida shooting suspect returns to court for hearing

[webfact]

Head bowed, Florida shooting suspect returns to court for hearing

By Katanga Johnson

 

Nikolas Cruz, facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, appears in court for a status hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. February 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Stocker/Pool

 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - A former student accused of last week's deadly shooting at a Florida high school returned to court for one of two hearings on Monday in a case that has galvanized advocates of stricter gun control, including many of the rampage survivors.

 

Nikolas Cruz, his head bowed, hands shackled to his waist and wearing a red, jail-issued jumpsuit, showed no emotion during the first, procedural session in Fort Lauderdale.

 

The hearing ended with Broward Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Scherer ruling that a defence motion filed last week remain sealed from public view. The content of the motion, sealed by another judge, was not described in the hearing.

 

In the second hearing, the judge ordered the release of parts of a mental health assessment of Cruz by the Florida Department of Children and Families in November 2016. The report had already been leaked to a local newspaper.

 

Cruz, who did not attend the second session, is facing 17 counts of premeditated murder after the attack last Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, near Fort Lauderdale. It is the deadliest shooting ever at a U.S. high school.

 

The suspect, whose mother died in November, was assessed by the authorities after videos surfaced on the social media platform Snapchat showing him cutting himself, according to a report in South Florida's Sun Sentinel newspaper.

 

“Mr. Cruz has fresh cuts on both his arms. Mr. Cruz stated he plans to go out and buy a gun. It is unknown what he is buying the gun for,” the report was quoted as saying.

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has acknowledged it failed to act on a tip warning that Cruz possessed a gun and the desire to kill.

 

Cruz's team of public defendants petitioned for the release, and Florida Circuit Court Judge Charles Greene, who presided over the hearing, agreed. But he stopped short of allowing the release of details of the suspect's mental health history and child abuse records.

 

"The public has a right to know whether the information that has been broadcast and disseminated is accurate,” Greene said of the information already leaked. “If there are shortcomings in the department, the public has a right to know.”

 

Student survivors gathered with teachers and gun safety advocates on Monday to plan a visit to the state capital of Tallahassee on Wednesday. They will demand state lawmakers enact a ban the sale of assault weapons in Florida.

 

The White House said on Monday that President Donald Trump supports efforts to improve federal background checks for gun purchases. He also angered some students by suggesting in a tweet on Saturday that the FBI had missed signs that the shooter was troubled because it was distracted by its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

 

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-20

[Scott]

Troll post removed.  

 

[overherebc]

How long do you think this case will take?

How many lawyers will make loads of cash from it?

More importantly how many times will witnesses be in court having to 'live' the experience again and how will that affect them.

The decision on the guy's future should be made as quickly as possible to save the mental wear and tear on the ones who saw friends die and saw this guy do it.

How many 'eye witnesses' will be subjected to harsh treatment by defence lawyers trying to pick some small difference in yesterdays and todays statements and spin things out so they make more money.

Death penalty or banged up for life? I'm not picking one over the other.

Just do it as quickly as it can be done.

[Dustdevil]

I've always advocated avoiding the death penalty except for two types: mass murderers and serial killers. Don't get me started about insanity pleas--they only work if the perp actually had no idea what he was doing.

[Skeptic7]

Time to fire up Ol' Sparky and right quick! 

[lannarebirth]

Well, one tragedy avoided anyway.  Yeah, it's access to guns, to be sure, but there's something else at work in these kid's minds as well.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/weapons-cache-found-home-md-teen-accused-bringing/story?id=53224189

Edited February 21, 2018 by lannarebirth

[Jingthing]

7 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Time to fire up Ol' Sparky and right quick! 

More like 10 years from now.