Attorneys Argue Over Parkland Shooter Nikolas Cruz’s Fate: Death or Prison

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table for closing arguments in the penalty phase of Cruz's trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Oct. 11, 2022. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—The prosecutor and defense attorney for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz agreed Tuesday that his 2018 attack that killed 17 people was horrible, but disagreed in their closing arguments on whether it was an act of evil worthy of execution or one of a broken person who should be imprisoned for life.

Lead prosecutor Mike Satz and his defense counterpart, Melisa McNeill, painted for the 12 jurors competing pictures of what drove Cruz’s attack at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day.