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Post by Graveyardbride on Nov 17, 2021 8:01:36 GMT -5
November 15 Hearing: Are ‘Maroon’ and ‘Burgundy’ the Same Color?During a hearing on Monday, November 15, Nawal Bashiman, one of the assistant public defenders representing Nikolas Cruz, attempted to suppress videos, photos, cellphone messages and other items seized as a result of search warrants issued in response to the affidavits of sheriff’s detectives John Curcio and Walter Foster. According to Bashiman, the affidavits contained false statements, including, but not limited to, a claim that Andrew Medina, the security guard, had identified Nikolas Cruz as the shooter, when, in fact, he said he could not remember the name of the “suspicious person” he saw entering the campus, only that he was a former student with problems, and he never called a “code red” as the detectives claimed. The pair also wrote that the guard described Cruz as wearing a maroon shirt, but the shirt was actually burgundy.
At this point, Judge Elizabeth Scherer interrupted, saying she believed burgundy and maroon were basically the same color.
Both detectives, who were present, told the judge their statements were accurate paraphrases of Medina’s comments and not intended to be direct quotes. Curcio also pointed out that Cruz had confessed to the shootings and this, too, was included in the affidavits.
Assistant state attorney Nicole Chiappone argued that the affidavits were accurate and if there were any errors, they were minor and inconsequential.
Although Judge Scherer outright denied several defense motions, such as declaring Florida’s death penalty unconstitutional, she said she would rule later on other issues.
During the proceedings, Bashiman reiterated the defense would be calling upwards of eight mental health professionals. Prosecutors previously claimed defense attorneys have thus far failed to specify a formal diagnosis and the state needs to know which mitigating factors will be claimed during the penalty phase.
A 12-person jury will be selected to determine whether Cruz will be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Sources: State of Florida v. Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Case No. 18-001958-CF-10A; Terry Spencer, Associated Press, November 16, 2021; Christina Vazquez, WPLG, November 16, 2021.
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Post by pat on Nov 17, 2021 17:31:53 GMT -5
People shouldn't be allowed to waste the court's time on nonsense like this. I looked up "maroon" and "burgundy" and one is a "brownish crimson color" and the other is a "dark red color," so they're close enough to be interchangeable. I've also noticed than when describing dark red cars, women usually call them burgundy and men call them maroon, and both the detectives were men.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Dec 10, 2021 21:32:21 GMT -5
Judge Denies One Defense Request, Defers Another
Nikolas Cruz made two court appearances this week, on Tuesday (December 7) and again the following day.
During Tuesday’s pretrial hearing, defense attorneys requested judge Elizabeth Scherer take the death penalty off the table and she declined.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the defense suggested the prosecution and defense take turns during voir dire (examination of jurors) regarding the death penalty, arguing it would be “the more fair method.” The judge deferred ruling on this issue until trial.
Jury selection begins Monday, January 4, 2022.
Sources: WBFS, December 8 and December 9, 2021; and State of Florida v. Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Case No. 18-001958-CF-10A.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jan 12, 2022 10:07:26 GMT -5
Judge Denies Prosecution’s Motion for Continuance
At a Tuesday, January 11, hearing, Michael Katz, lead prosecutor in the Nikolas Cruz case, advised Judge Elizabeth Scherer the state wasn’t fully prepared for the penalty phase set to begin February 21, 2022. “We have not received information from 10 of the experts,” he told the court.
“We understand there has been a pandemic getting in the way of getting this done quickly, but we want to make sure you understand what there is left to do for the state and defense.” Assistant State Attorney Jeff Marcus added.
The judge responded swiftly, refusing to delay the proceedings again and ordering both the prosecution and defense to work it out and be ready on February 21st.
Jury selection had been scheduled to begin January 4, but after both the prosecution and defense requested additional time, Judge Scherer rescheduled the trial.
An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Monday, January 24.
Sources: Christina Vazquez, WPLG, January 11, 2022; and Scott Sutton, WPTV, December 29, 2021.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jan 28, 2022 4:46:34 GMT -5
Defendant’s List of Mitigating Circumstances in Opposition to Imposition of Death Penalty
On January 26, attorneys representing Nikolas Cruz filed Defendant’s Notice of Intent to Present Expert Testimony of Mental Mitigation naming 10 experts who will be called to testify concerning a list of mitigating circumstances in opposition to implementation of the death penalty, as follows:
• Witnessed death of his father • Grew up without a father – raised by single mother • Mother died suddenly just before crime • Has severe phonological delay • Immature for his age • Was sexually abused by trusted peer • Has neurodevelopmental disorder associated with prenatal alcohol exposure • Exposed to illegal drugs in utero • Exposed to nicotine in utero • Bullied and ostracized by younger brother and peers • The defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance • Impaired social skills • Capacity to appreciate criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law substantially impaired • Memory deficits • Motor function delays • Neurological impairments • Multiple deficits in adaptive functioning • Brain damaged • Executive functioning deficits • Independent functioning deficits • Cognitive deficits • Intellectual deficits • Central nervous system abnormalities • Lived with parent who abused alcohol • Was adopted • Developmentally delayed • Had to be resuscitated at birth • Food deprivation through his childhood • Diagnosed with ADHD and OCD • Remorse • Medicated throughout his childhood • Diagnosis of acute psychosis immediately after the incident • Any other factors in the defendant’s background that would mitigate against imposition of the death penalty.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, February 21.
Source: State of Florida v. Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Case No. 18-001958-CF-10A.
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Post by pat on Jan 29, 2022 12:40:41 GMT -5
I hope there aren't any bleeding hearts on the jury who fall for this BS. He was the bully, not the one being bullied. His mother, Lynda Cruz, was terrified of him and wanted him out of the house. She told people if anything happened to her, such as accidental death, he would be the one responsible.
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Post by snowfairy on Jan 29, 2022 13:37:57 GMT -5
I hope there aren't any bleeding hearts on the jury who fall for this BS. He was the bully, not the one being bullied. His mother, Lynda Cruz, was terrified of him and wanted him out of the house. She told people if anything happened to her, such as accidental death, he would be the one responsible. I was in the Navy, so I'm not a bleeding heart. Still, I think this kid did have some mental health issues, although not as severe as his lawyers are making them out to be. Just from what I've read, I don't think his problems are because his mother drank or used drugs while she was pregnant. As for the bullying, he seemed to go out of his way to provoke people and his violent acts were more a lack of parental control than something congenital. I read somewhere that one time he hit his mother in the face and knocked three of her teeth loose. But she still went with him to get an ID so that he could buy guns, although she had been told by his counselors that he shouldn't be allowed to have a gun. What he needed in his life was a strong male influence.
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Post by catherine on Jan 30, 2022 12:06:27 GMT -5
I was in the Navy, so I'm not a bleeding heart. Still, I think this kid did have some mental health issues, although not as severe as his lawyers are making them out to be. Just from what I've read, I don't think his problems are because his mother drank or used drugs while she was pregnant. As for the bullying, he seemed to go out of his way to provoke people and his violent acts were more a lack of parental control than something congenital. I read somewhere that one time he hit his mother in the face and knocked three of her teeth loose. But she still went with him to get an ID so that he could buy guns, although she had been told by his counselors that he shouldn't be allowed to have a gun. What he needed in his life was a strong male influence. He definitely needed a strong male influence, that is, a man who would kick his ass and make him straighten up. His mother was an enabler. She was definitely afraid of him when he got older, but she indulged him, buying him everything he wanted and ignoring the recommendations of those who were trying to help him. He did things like pull fire alarms in school and once, he poured melted ice cream all over the floor just for the hell of it. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but did it because he knew he could get away with it. His attorneys will try to convince the jury that he's mentally challenged, has a learning disability, ADHD, etc., but I don't believe any of it. He made decent grades in courses that he liked, but acted up in classes where he didn't like the teacher, or whatever, so he has the ability to learn. His writing skills are about the same as most high school graduates today and in a letter he wrote to one of his fans, he said he wanted 6 children, 3 sons and 3 daughters, and wanted to name the sons Remington, Kalashnikov, etc., which are the names of gun manufacturers. He spelled "Kalashnikov" correctly, which is something the average American wouldn't be able to do. I've said from the beginning that he's crazy like a fox.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jan 31, 2022 23:59:42 GMT -5
State Files New Motion for Continuance
On Monday (January 31), the prosecution again filed a motion for continuance of the sentencing trial, claiming “There is not enough available time remaining for the necessary depositions, motions, and expert testing to be completed. As a result, the State will not be able to be ready for trial on February 21, 2022.” It was also noted that victims and relatives of those killed during the February 14, 2018, massacre have been apprised of the prosecution’s need for additional time in which to prepare.
Judge Elizabeth Scherer denied the State’s previous motion for continuance on February 11, ordering both the prosecution and defense to “work it out” and be ready on February 21st.
The judge could rule on the motion as early as Wednesday, February 2.
Sources: David Ovalle, The Miami Herald, January 31, 2022; and State of Florida v. Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Case No. 18-001958-CF-10A.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 2, 2022 13:28:43 GMT -5
Judge Grants State’s Motion for Continuance
Today (February 2) Judge Elizabeth Scherer granted the State’s motion for continuance of the sentencing trial previously scheduled to begin February 21. “We’re gonna shoot for the first week of April and we’re gonna have statuses so that I can keep apprised of the situation,” she said.
The rescheduling will give prosecutors an additional two months to take depositions and complete other essential discovery.
Sources: State of Florida v. Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Case No. 18-001958-CF-10A; and WTLV, February 2, 2022.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 8, 2022 7:29:36 GMT -5
State Files Motion for Judicial Notice of ‘Pumped up Kicks’ Lyrics
On his way to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that Valentine’s Day four years ago, Nikolas Cruz accessed “Pumped up Kicks,” a Foster the People song, multiple times. Now prosecutors have filed a motion for judicial notice of the song’s lyrics, particularly the chorus:
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun All the other kids with the pumped up kicks You’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet.
At present, jury selection is expected to begin April 4, 2022.
Source: State of Florida v. Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Case No. 18-001958-CF-10A.
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Post by jason on Feb 8, 2022 19:25:20 GMT -5
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun All the other kids with the pumped up kicks You’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet. I hope at least a few of the jurors are intelligent enough to see through the defense claims that Cruz has learning disabilities, or whatever, and he gets the death penalty. Too bad Florida no longer has the electric chair -- lethal injection is too good for the little prick.
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Post by pat on Feb 10, 2022 8:14:01 GMT -5
There are rumors that his lawyers may try to introduce what's called "brain mapping" or QEEG, that records electrical energy in the brain because some of the defense experts listed specialize in it. I don't know much about it, but it has been used in other cases to keep killers off of Death Row.
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Post by steve on Feb 10, 2022 11:46:49 GMT -5
Something I don't understand about school shooters and other mass shooters is that they shoot and kill people for attention, but then they whimper like a whipped dog when it comes time to pay for their crimes. Why doesn't Cruz be a man and ask for the death penalty like the Oklahoma bomber and that woman who killed those men in Florida?
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Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 11, 2022 1:35:19 GMT -5
Defense Attorneys Claim Cruz Suffers from Multiple Personality DisorderAs pretrial deliberations continue, attorneys representing Nikolas Cruz are adding multiple personality disorder to a list of mitigating factors in their attempt to keep their client off death row.
“The defendant is referring to another personality as ‘hatred’ and he’s the one who committed these crimes, so that obviously could be a multi-personality defense,” Jeff Marcus, assistant state attorney, told Judge Elizabeth Scherer.
Defense counsel added that the prosecution should be restricted to one expert based on the wording of Rule 3.2029(d) of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, to wit:
“Appointment of State Expert; Time of Examination. After the filing of such notice and on the motion of the state indicating its desire to seek the death penalty, the court shall order that, within 48 hours after the defendant is convicted of capital murder, the defendant be examined by a mental health expert chosen by the state. Attorneys for the state and defendant may be present at the examination. The examination shall be limited to those mitigating circumstances the defendant expects to establish through expert testimony.”
The State argued the rule does not specifically say “one.” Prosecutor Carolyn McCann proceeded to read a list of the subject fields of expertise: “Memory deficits, next, motor function delays, next, neurological impairments, next, multiple deficits in adaptive function, next, brain damage, next ... I don’t know of any one doctor that could possibly be an expert in every one of these fields. ... The state has absolute rights to present the case and justice to the victims. It is not just about the Defendant. It is all about leveling the playing field and it is not level where they have listed 14 experts and they want to keep us to one. How is that level? That is lopsided. It is not fair.” The judge subsequently denied the defense motion with a caveat that would allow the State to have more than one expert examine Cruz per a distinct field of study. “Make a list of the medical fields and then I will determine which fields are specific enough to warrant an expert,” Scherer said.
________ Shortly after his arrest following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Cruz told a detective there was what he called a “demon” in his head and the voice told him to do bad things. It was the demon who told him to buy the AR-15 and take an Uber to the school.
When asked what the demon told him to do, he replied. “Burn. Kill. Destroy.”
Sometimes, he continued, he took Xanax and smoked marijuana to make the voice – which he claimed was there in the interrogation room – go away.
“You could have stopped the demon by getting a prescription for marijuana,” the detective countered. “You could have stopped the demon by getting a prescription for Xanax. You could have stopped the demon any time you want. You didn’t want to stop the demon.”
At this point, Cruz became defensive, saying, “I don’t like the demon,” and asked for an attorney.
When the detective left the room, Cruz began talking to himself: “Why didn’t he kill me?” he repeated over and over again.
_________ Eric Schwartzreich, a local defense attorney who isn’t involved in the case, commented on the defense strategy and what could happen in the case: “Right now, their job is one thing, to save his life. The issue is one thing life or death. The defense is trying to save his life, the prosecution is trying to get all of those jurors to say that this should be unanimously a death penalty case.
“If this is not unanimous,” he continued, “if every single one of those jurors on that death penalty phase does not say, ‘We’re going to impose the death penalty,’ it’s game over and it’s going to be life in prison without the possibility of parole.”Sources: Ted Scouten, WFOR, February 10, 2022; Christina Vazquez, WPLG, February 10, 2022; Jamiel Lynch, Konstantin Toropin and Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Tuesday, August 7, 2018; State of Florida v. Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Case No. 18-001958-CF-10A.
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