Parkland Shooter’s Lawyers Say He Shouldn’t Be Called a ‘Killer’ in Trial
Written by SOURCE on September 2, 2021
Lawyers for Parkland School shooter Nikolas Cruz got into a dispute over language, saying he shouldn’t be referred to as a “killer” during his trial.
The New York Daily News reported that on Wednesday, assistant public defender Melisa McNeill contended during a Zoom hearing that phrases like “the massacre,” “the schoolhouse slaughter,” “an execution,” and other “inflammatory” terminology shouldn’t be used when talking about the shooting.
“We are not making effort, as the state has alleged, to minimize or purify what happened,” McNeill said. “The evidence speaks for itself, and it’s not necessary to invite error into the record with these prejudicial references.”
Cruz confessed to the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 students and teachers dead. He was later charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder and is now looking at a potential death sentence.
