With the life sentence of Nikolas Cruz, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami comments that the sentence is a "severe and just punishment." Archbishop Wenski also pointed out the position of the church against the death penalty, saying that it is not necessary for the context of "modern society."
According to Cruxnow, the archbishop also said that the punishment would give the school shooter the time to reflect on the "grave harm that he caused."
Archbishop Wenski And Other Comments On The Court Decision
The archbishop also talked about human dignity in his statement, saying that it is something that society should preserve. He added that the contrary would happen with the use of what he called "extreme and unnecessary punishment of capital punishment."
Archbishop Wenski also talked about the difficult upbringing of Cruz as a justification for the life sentence. He added that there's also a lack of recognition by the people around him of his mental health issues.
However, the families of the victim were in the opinion that the court should have sentenced Nikolas Crus to the death penalty.
Chen Wang, a cousin of the late Peter Wand called the decision "insane." There's also Fred Guttenberg who commented that the jury failed the families of the victim and that the families of the 17 victims were not given justice.
Ilan Alhadeff, father of Alyssa Alhadeff said "I'm disgusted with those jurors. I'm disgusted with the system." He added his confusion with the life sentence in lieu of the 17 deaths and 17 wounded and injured by the accused in 2018.
In an interview with the media, Tony Montalto, father of victim Gina Moltano and president of Stand with Parkland commented that the life sentence is "yet another gut punch for so many of us who devastatingly lost our loved ones..."
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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting
According to History, it was February 14, 2018, when Nikolas Cruz went inside the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and opened fire. The article said that in the shooting, Cruz used a "legally purchased" AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Reportedly, Cruz warned a freshman, Chris McKenna, before committing the crime. The freshman immediately ran outside and informed a school faculty member and the school security monitor about the situation.
In one of the reports, it was said that Cruz even stationed his gun with a bipod or tripod at the faculty lounge at one point.
After the crime, he would escape the school by blending in with the escaping crowd. Fortunately, he was apprehended by Officer Michael Leonard. As for his crime, Cruz was charged with 13 counts of first-degree murder and 17 charges of attempted murder.
In one of his appearances in court, Cruz apologized to the families of the victims. He said, ""I am very sorry for what I did, and I have to live with it every day." It was also revealed in court that Cruz was diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
Cruz pleaded guilty to the murder of the 14 students and three faculty members.
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