Jury selection in the deadliest U.S. mass shooting ever to go to trial began Monday with preliminary screening for the panel that will determine whether Nikolas Cruz will be put to death for murdering 17 students and staff members at a Parkland, Florida, high school.
Eighteen members of the first panel of 60 prospective jurors survived the only question they were asked by Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer: Could they serve in a trial that is expected to last from June to September? The 18 will be brought back in several weeks for questioning about whether they could judge Cruz fairly and their views on the death penalty. Two more groups are expected to be screened Monday.
Court officials have said 1,500 candidates or more could be brought before Scherer, prosecutors and Cruz’s attorneys for preliminary screening. The expected two-month process will pick 12 panelists plus eight alternates. Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, meaning the jury will only decide if he receives a death sentence or life without parole.
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