FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The suspect in the Florida school shooting that left 17 dead in February is due back in court for another hearing.
FILE – In this Aug. 15, 2018 file photo, Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz listens during a status check on his case at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Officials say a number of issues could come up in a status hearing on Cruz’s death penalty case on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, including the release of evidence and witness interviews by prosecutors to Cruz’s defense lawyers. Cruz, 19, is charged with killing 17 people and wounding 17 others in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
The hearing Tuesday mainly deals with procedural motions involving 20-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who faces the death penalty if convicted of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Cruz’s lawyers say he would plead guilty to murder and attempted murder charges in exchange for a life prison sentence, but prosecutors have rejected that.
No trial date has been set for Cruz and is likely a long ways off.
Cruz is also charged with assaulting a corrections officer in the jail where he is being held without bail.
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