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Life or death? Jury in Parkland school shooting penalty trial reaches verdict
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A jury said Thursday that it has reached a decision on whether to recommend that Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz be executed for the 2018 massacre that killed 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.The recommendation was not immediately released and came in on the second day of deliberations, promising an end to a three-month trial that included graphic videos, photos, and testimony from the massacre and its aftermath, heart-wrenching testimony from victims’ family members, and a tour of the still blood-spattered building.Nikolas Cruz waits for the judge to enter the courtroom before the jury's verdict is released. The jury’s decision must be unanimous if it intends to recommend the death penalty, and if that happens, it will be up to Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer to make a final decision. If all jurors can’t agree on recommending death, then Cruz would get life in prison.PREVIOUS: Parkland shooter trial: Prosecutor makes final case for Nikolas Cruz to get the death penaltyOn Tuesday, Cruz, sat impassively during closing arguments, occasionally exchanging notes with his attorneys.