The sentencing trial for Nikolas Cruz, the school shooter who perpetrated the mass shooting which happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in Florida, continues. This week the defense will argue why Cruz’s brain scans should be allowed in his defense, while the prosecution will say why the testimony should be thrown out for being what they call “junk.”
Nikolas Cruz made a guilty plea in October to killing 14 students and three staff members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th, 2018. This week, his sentencing trial continues, as the defense argues for life in prison without parole and the prosecution argues for the death penalty.
The prosecution argues that there are seven aggravating factors, including proof that this crime was callous, calculated, and merciless, and that these factors dictate the death penalty in this case.
The defense argues that mitigating factors, including Cruz’s severe mental health illness, make a life sentence with no parole adequate for punishment. They must convince at least one juror that the death penalty is not warranted, as the death penalty must be a unanimous decision from the jury.
The prosecution’s argument was made over three weeks, including emotional testimony from teachers and students present and injured during the mass shooting, as well as families of victims who have been impacted. Jurors were shown graphic surveillance videos, crime scene and autopsy photos, and the chilling video of Cruz calmly ordering an Icee just after the shooting.
The prosecution included surveillance video of Cruz attacking a jail guard nine months later. The prosecution rested on August 4th after touring the panel through Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which has been kept in the same state since the shooting, including pools of dried blood, with doors left open to signify that Cruz shot into that classroom.
The defense expert in mental health, Wesley Center, stated that he knew Cruz had irrational thoughts because the mass shooter said he had plans for a life outside prison, which will never happen.
The defense seeks to prove that Cruz likely suffered brain damage in the womb, confirmed by statements from Cruz’s late birth mother that she abused alcohol and cocaine during pregnancy.
Added to this is circumstantial evidence of Cruz’ mental illness, including proof that he was kicked out of preschool for hurting other children, that his adoptive father died in front of him when he was five, and that he was allegedly abused sexually by a “trusted peer.” His adoptive mother died less than four months before the shooting.
To prove the extent of Cruz’s mental illness, the defense wants to use the results of a quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG). EEGs have long been used to measure brainwaves and diagnose epilepsy and other brain illnesses. The qEEG scan compares patients’ brainwaves to those of “neurotypical” people, creating a map of how the brain works differently from a neurotypical brain.
Although the qEEG results cannot be used for a diagnosis, they can be used to back up findings in conjunction with patient history, examination, behavior, and other tests. The defense argues that this test will corroborate Cruz’s mental illness.
The prosecution argues that this test should be inadmissible and is pseudoscience. The lawyers had an Emory University neurology professor, Dr. Charles Epstein, review the findings, and he stated the external scalp probes used on Cruz were imprecise, making the results worthless. He wrote in his statement, “Garbage in, garbage out.”
The defense and prosecution will make arguments to the judge this week as to whether the test should be included or not. If the judge opts to side with the prosecution, the sentencing trial will start on August 22 and include the test results.