FILE – In this Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, file photo, Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz is escorted into the courtroom for a status hearing at the Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A series of defense motions are set to be heard in the case of Nikolas Cruz, accused in the killing of 17 people at a Florida high school last year. Two court hearings are scheduled Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 for the 21-year-old Cruz, who faces the death penalty if convicted in the February 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A series of defense motions are set to be heard in the case of the man accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school last year.
Two court hearings are scheduled Friday for 21-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who faces the death penalty if convicted in the February 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The defense motions include attempts to prevent prosecutors from seeking the death penalty and to dismiss a charge of attempted battery against a jail corrections officer after the shootings.
Cruz’s lawyers have said he will plead guilty to the school shooting in exchange for a life prison sentence, but Broward County prosecutors have rejected that offer.
Trial is currently set to begin with jury selection on Jan. 27.
By CURT ANDERSON
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