Parkland School Shooter's Defense Presents Opening Statement 

Well said....but minds are made up

She was excellent.

Yeah she's just a good attorney

So well said. Thank you.

Exactly. Well said

Exactly!!! If she did her job poorly, he could walk away and that's definitely not what anyone wants, even her I'm sure.

I agree. It's her job. But she doesn't have to sap it on like he had some kind of life that's TOTALLY different from anyone else. She could focus less on his mom and upbringing, and more so and good choices he made. Surely, he did some right choices in his life. I mean, he made it thus far? Play on his humanity as a person, and less on his absence of ability. The way she is choosing to go is weak at best.

Because those people aren't capable of nuanced and complex thinking. They can only feel, and base their perceptions on the ideas that someone is either entirely bad or entirely good; nothing exists in the massive grey area between them. They tend to lash out whenever someone challenges them to examine this grey area because it hurts their little brains.

EVERYONE has disabilities of some sort. To use them as an excuse for such evil is . . . Evil.

@@dmurph1320 I don't think she's trying to use them as an excuse, but she has to use SOMETHING to try to get the jury to sympathize even just a little with him because they have nothing else. Can't say this was an accident, or that it was because he was defending himself against a bully, or that he was otherwise a good person because there's literally nothing there

Yep. Good.

Right

I don't know how the parents can just sit there. Imagine hearing how your child was shot 13x or having their head practically blown off, but only held together by their forehead and scalp.

Exactly. Don't let the jurors get caught up in this little fantasy story.

Nor should they have to. I agree with you. I couldn't sit there if he had done that to mine.

Yes, Joaquín Oliver's sister can't hide her desdain towards "poor Nikolas Cruz".

Shame on you. Her murdered their kids. report back when you know how it feels.

What truth she spoke? She's a defense lawyer and lying a lot. She's a professional liar who earns her livelihood by lying.

@Ayhan Knowingly lying to the jury would be an ethics violation. Just because someone's an attorney, that doesn't mean they're constantly lying.

She did do an amazing job. There is no excuse for what he did and what he did is tragic. That being said, I feel bad for him too, he was doomed before he was born because vital information wasn't passed along to get the proper help that he needed. He was failed far too much by far too many people it sounds like. I know it's easy to say that now that hindsight is 20/20 but hopefully this will help other families if they are in similar situations to not be ashamed and let all information be known so the right help can be applied. Also, God be with him and also the families of the victims of his crimes.

@@WhitneyBrock88 I agree. Don’t mean I think he should get a free ride. I honestly think the death penalty would be way to easy. He actually needs to live his life in a cage. That said he didn’t have a chance in h-// at any kind of life. Mentally, emotionally, nor to function normal.

Yes she never seemed to lie

bro i cant believe anyone cared about this monster of a killer

Seems like she's thinking about it as more a victory for her not for the shooter.

wdym whomever to be blamed. it's him. we just need to open our eyes and see where to place our feelings correctly.

@@yumyummarbles No no I completely understand he is to blame, i’m not at all disregarding that or disagreeing I say that in the sense that the defense attorney tries to disperse the blame amongst other people than the sick individual himself. Sorry if I caused some misunderstanding, again to reiterate I do not at all disagree with you.

Ikr 🙄 he’s so disgusting

Exactly. This will hurt his case tremendously. It almost seems like a narcissistic type of behavior. What could've been interpreted as a sign of being generally out and trying to cope with what he done, now seems to be a sign of total disrespect. As a juror, if I would've been unsure before, right now I would probably vote for the death penalty.

I mean, unless you want the whole thing overturned, he needs some kind of defense. Our justice system was set up to make it as rare as possible for innocent people to be convicted. Cruz’s admission of guilt doesn’t revoke his constitutional right to defense.

I wonder if he knew his mother was a drug addict and maybe that’s why he was so into it..because he definitely was paying attetion.

That’s literally the job of the defense though. In a case of this caliber, there is no excusing or defending what he did. But fair trial applies to everyone.

She succeeded in her job. She got her client the best possible outcome in this case.

@@elessartelcontar9415 yep that’s their job lol. Yet if you ever needed council in a situation i doubt you’d hate them then.

the defense was morally indefensible

And he hasn't shown any emotion, just inside feeding on the pain still

If that was the case it wouldn't be that people who do these kind of things are usually very damaged traumatized people.

It is scientifically proven that drug use when pregnant causes permanent brain damage for the child.

Said at the very beginning that he is responsible. However I also think that the system failed both the children who were killed, their families and him. Its just too easy to think of people in terms of good and evil. Then we don't have to consider anything too complexed. You have to put things like this into a wider social context. A mentally ill teenagers was able to walk into a shop and buy a gun. On what planet is that responsible!!

Do you have any medical training? Are you a neurologist or psychiatrist ? How can you listen to the defence and write what you did? Thank God you were not on the jury.

I don't feel bad for him at all. I know people personally who've had it worse than him, but you know what they did? They sucked it up and went on to become law abiding, decent human beings. They never played victim or blamed anyone else for what they went through.

Did you hear the entire opening statement? His mother took large doses of drugs and alcohol while pregnant and The effects of drugs and alcohol arent only about delays but most importantly behavioral and personality disorders and irreversible brain damage. The negative imprint he got from his mother while just a fetus, he’s carrying that until now. His mother failed him, his adoptive mother failed to help him and the society and system failed to help him.

It is clearly not a free pass. But I think the serious expressions of the victims' relatives will tell everyone, that the life story of Nikolas is absolutely devastating. He was let down by so many people and by so many things and it becomes inevitable that the FASD disorder had tremendous impact on his life. The prosecutor did an excellent job telling us why all of this happened. I felt like the victims' relatives understood that too, while listening. Parkland happened because the support system for kids like Nikolas doesn't work properly. The school systems are too full with kids with problems and it doesn't have the resources to help them. There is the reason everyone is looking for.

@@leonorrivera6379 agree with you. Sometimes I wonder if some of the people commenting on here have watched the video at all.

100% agree. He was sick and was neglected. Everyone who had an opportunity to make the right decision about correct treatment and correct environment for him should be held accountable for what happened.

Idk. Maybe chop him up into tiny pieces, starting with his toes. Keep him awake the whole time. Let everyone slice off a little bit until his body is hog slop.

Same to the CIA agents who told him to do it too🤣😂🤣😂

That would be satisfying

I'd feel bad for the rocks

Death penalty!

And what punishment can we give the FBI, who are very complicit in this tragedy? Does $127.5 million really absolve them of their neglect? This incident should never have happened.

@@lumpstersmouse5471 wtf are you blabbering about dude

@@jessiegonzo6966 cruz was on fbi watch list

Not saying that death might be the right decision, but a good reason for it not being the right one is that we still don’t understand what consciousness itself is. Meaning, we don’t even know what we are doing to them, and wether or not it’s actually beneficial in any way. Just a thought.

Same reason we don't hang ppl in the town square anymore.

Excuses are exactly what the defense are required to *create* in this case. The attorney said it right at the beginning of her opening statement.

But a brain damaged person, birthed drug addicted pregnant mother can be...

Not defending him at all but he's not just a troubled disturbed youth. His mother drank every single day and smoked crack every single day while pregnant with him. Not to mention whatever the father's history is. In other trials it has been proven that alcohol poisons the womb. Imagine all day every day for 9 months of alcohol and Crack. Then a couple wks before she'd give birth she'd go to detox so the babies she bore didn't show any signs of withdrawals. Imagine what the withdrawals 2 wks before birth did to the baby and the drugs she was given at detox... again not defending his actions because he knew what he was doing but he was born poisoned and he didn't ask for that. No baby would.

@@babygirl79114 Well, no baby asks to be Aborted. It was his mom's Right to Choose. She had a right to drink, drug and smoke while pregnant with him. As far Nikolas Cruz is concerned, that's was his own tough luck. it was his Mom's Right to Choose. She choose not abort him but to poison him.

🙄

Chair 🪑

Thank god for a court system where people get a fair trial. You did not even listen to the defences argument.

Somebody who literally had no chance from the day he was conceived. In this case, I agree he needs to be locked away for public safety, but I think he was ruined from the start. His entire life history proves that.

They don't always have the tools or capacity. That's why we as a society need to learn and recognize this earlier.

People with fetal alcohol syndrome cannot think for themselves, they just react, and usually it's negative.

Exactly. It’s like he has the brain and comprehension of a 1 year old. His brain is not normal. Not even close.

You need help yourself

Our Gov gave us a bad deal when they closed the menta institutions. The fact that there are so many ppl who are bipolar who don’t take their meds, have an episode, are picked up, give them their meds & then release them back in a few days just so they don’t take their meds, etc. etc. is insane. Ppl say that these shootings used to be very rare & now shootings are common, perhaps it’s due to special interests groups who want for those kids to be given 10x chances under the veil of fairness, stigma, etc? It’s harder & harder for professionals/schools, etc. do anything that could actually help the child such as getting special help before they blow up, instead the child’s issues are hidden & problems not addressed. It’s sick to even think that ppl won’t address kids with mental issues so that they themselves aren’t targeted which could cause them to lose a seat in a gov position, are paid off or whatever, all of the kids are the ones who get the brunt of it all, IMO.

I applaud this response so much. I can't praise your comment more, tbh. This kid was passed from incapable service to incapable service one by one. The school resource officer was even afraid of Baker acting him due to the threat of being sued.

mass shootings are exceedingly rare and are anomalies.

You are absolutely RIGHT !! Our country Doesn't have Institutions anymore We have destroyed them all..now our streets are full of Mentally ill ...

@@dontknow3949 rn maybe but when they keep happening it is no longer rare

It is absolutely! I get where you’re coming from. But if she doesn’t try to argue at least some points than it could be a mistrial. she has to try hard and be believable in order for his sentence to stick.

The death penalty is kinda easy honestly he’s segregated and sits around for decades before they push a sleepy 😴 needle in his arm life in prison is worse fighting for his life everyday around extremely violent criminals who hate child killers.

@@bassproshophat8999 He will be segregated with life in prison as well, that’s too easy, and why should the tax payers pay for this evil for the next 70 plus years??

@@bassproshophat8999 Yes but he will be fighting for his life everyday around extremely violent criminals who hate child killers for those decades. Then the death penalty. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

@@bassproshophat8999 to be honest he’ll more likely request being solitary away from general population for his safety. And now with this supposed inheritance, he’ll live sort of ok while these families suffer. Anything less than death penalty is unjust !

@Boston Gal I don’t know about that. But regardless anything less than death would diminish the severity of these murders.

NoorRougetLewis: Cruz is really paying attention since his counsel is up talking…

Fortunately, there’s a difference between crazy and legally insane.

@Boston Gal not really,the inmate won't let him last long

SO… you are arguing it is cheaper to allow him to LIVE… in hopes that he is killed?

Not if it’s done the instant the trial is over.

Think there's something going around in that court room....

It's a nerve thing

It’s called “Disgustitis” and “Rage/BS Cough” lol I don’t blame them.

Please show your qualifications to be able to say this.

@@lesleyhughes3174 you seem like a reasonable, thoughtful, kind, and compassionate person.

I agree. I don’t believe people like him change. What he did is not a minor mistake or part of growing pains.

Experience is an often overlooked qualification

You just been put on the watchlist

🤡

her closing statement was far from terrific.

She failed.

Yes!!!

If all commenters on here, bar myself, are from the US, no surprise there. Take a really good look around you. But then you don't recognise it, obviously. From afar, your country can be seen to be literally imploding. No need to wonder why, when these comments get read. Raised on hate, now raising with hate. Generationally sick in yourselves. Smh.

Yes!!!

In this case he needs to be gone, like not on this 🌎 anymore

But we have fewer, not more FEWER

@@kristenc6839 that why we have courts.

@@bernardofitzpatrick5403 and unfortunately the courts and justice don’t always prevail.

@@kristenc6839 this is true.

💯 agree

When your child dies, it's undescribable pain...parents will never be the same. Not to mention, every February 14th, a day celebrated with love, will be a constant reminder to each and every one of these parents that lost a child that day.

'Your' appropriate

@Boston Gal so you lived it?

@@thisisme3238 as a mother who recently lost a child, this couldn't be more true. But it's every day, every single day.

Don't call this trash a human being. He knew what he was doing, he did it with cold blood, faked to be mentally ill and now is proud of what he did.

Isn't the danger of life in prison that Cruz can try to escape and hurt more people? He already attacked a deputy after his arrest. He can also start criminal activities behind bars, as notorious gang leaders have done. I think people also have a problem with life sentences is that Cruz can follow an education behind bars, have the right of 3 meals a day, medical treatments, mental health care, a warm shower and family visits. He most likely outlives the lives of his victims parents. He also hasn't an IQ of 40 because he could go to school and got his math. For he tried to deceive his interrogator when he was just caught. Lastly, putting all the blame on the deceased mother for problems as if the parents of the victims didn't have problems while growing up. There's something like accountability. For he took a long time to come up with the idea, planning and execution of his urge to kill. What do you think?

AGREED! So sick of people on the internet shitting on her

you need to rethink your career choice...with a mind like yours you need to be a professional criminal...or a septic tank cleaner....just think of that every day from now until you finally don't...seriously get this thought in your head...starting now

2004

No, but there is an explanation but even the explanation doesn’t let you escape justice from man.

I feel bad for some lawyers cause even if they know their client is guilty they have to defend them cause it is their job.

@@midnightmeadow9842 he already pled guilty…this is a penalty trial. Death penalty or life without parole

Defense attorneys are a special breed. Key word there “breed”

@@midnightmeadow9842 🧠🦻👀 and you might understand what's actually going on.

I’m a great lip reader and you can’t tell what he says because all you see is his jaw moving up and down.

She's a public defender. She is definitely not paid enough for her service.

@@misspippers2014 And she's defending a mass shooter. I doubt any of the attorneys or the judge "wanted" this case.

I’d say sitting “calmly” as a parent listening to their child’s brutal murder would be the hardest job

100% agree with this. That’s been playing with my head. I would be for the death penalty in this case if it wouldn’t drag on in appeals for the next 20years for those families.

Tax payers will pay for his dental medical and housing and he may live 90+ years.... that adds up like crazy. This case is a hard thing to judicate for sure. It's really going to come down to psychological analyst ect. And how the jury sees the world. It's so sad though regardless. I can see your point though.

Life sentence also means the entire appeal process, unless the defendant accepts a deal.

@@georgiadreamingbb1245 It costs taxpayers more money to execute someone than it does if they got Life W/O parole. Even if they never get executed and stay on death row, it costs way more than living in Gen Pop. Not that I would take that into consideration if I had to decide between life and death. The state I live in doesn't have the death penalty, but life is actually life. There's no possibility of parole, so, in essence, it's similar to a death sentence, except they won't get automatic appeals.

@mcacorn Cruz already pleaded guilty; this is solely to decide punishment (life in prison or death).

No, but his mother was no saint. You can't tell me that her consuming drugs and alcohol daily didn't cause emotional, physical and psychological damage to her son.

Yes …. Indirectly by her heinous behaviour whilst pregnant. She damaged his brain.

The one and only person guilty here is the defendant. Period.

This isn't about a bad childhood. This is about a fetal alcohol child that was bascially passed-the-buck from one adult who was incapable to take care of him to another until the HS kicked him out. By then he had no support network and was pretty much left to his own volition.

@@gfx2943 tell me how to feel bad for ones actions without telling me you feel bad... 😂😂 You basically just told original commenter it's not about the defendants childhood, only to use examples of the defendants childhood. Oh LAWD 🤦🏻‍♀️

Agree. And he didn’t have that childhood he was adopted I think.

How lovely for her. Human beings are not formulaic equations though - you can't put X, Y and Z in and expect to always get the same product. Development is complex and varied. It's wonderful that your girlfriend hasn't shot a school full of students, hooray for her, but it's really not relevant to Nicholas Cruz.

@@gfx2943 By no means is that an excuse to sit back & premeditate a horrific massacre !!!! He is pure EVIL !!! He shouldn't even have a trial !!!! Makes me sick that anyone would even make an excuse for such a MONSTER !! IF IT WERE YOUR CHILDREN WOULD YOU BE MAKING THESE SAME EXCUSES ? He had the perfectly fine mindset to plan it, he had the wherewithal to make a FB post about his plans.

Life simply isn't fair

There has to be a unique type of mitigation. Perhaps if show that Cruz was assimilated by the BORG that day he did the shooting, that might the mitigation needed for a life sentence.

She’s not providing an EXCUSE; she is providing an EXPLANATION so that the jury can make an INFORMED DECISION concerning his fate.

He did not have a rough upbringing.

I wondered the same thing

Terrified of who? Him? Or people that see you defending him?

The defense lawyers are probably the safest from Cruz than anyone else in that room.

Why? That phase has gone. But a waste of my time trying to get that to sink in.

Right, she has somehow managed to paint a whole other story jeez

😂😂😂

Agree 🙏

Yes, before anyone decides to stone me. lol I think he is mean & full of hatred. But I think he was failed from the minute he began growing in the womb. Doesn’t mean I think he deserves any type of free ride. But as much as he hates people. Living in prison with people every minute would be so much more punishment then a quick easy death.

1. The jury CANNOT consider any system “failing” as a mitigating factor. At all. 2. Tragic event??? This was a killing. A mass shooting. A slaughter. He’s evil. 3. Hurt??? Really??? Try devastated. Try lives ruined. Wounded who are crippled for life. Parents who buried kids. Spouses that became widows. Try emotionally and psychologically annihilated for the rest of their lives.

@@Anna-yp9zl nope, he fears death far more, yet forced this upon several minors. People with worse upbringings haven't done this act. And he doesn't seem to regret it at all, it's all pathetic manipulation on his part with interrogations and "apologies". Death row will be all the benefits of Life + the fear of being subjected to the same terrible fate he set those people to

@@lowhp_comic just bc some ppl going thru a lot didn’t end up killing doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be excused the point is he’s mental mentals shouldn’t just die off they belong in a mental asylum or prison to control them but not die off that’s cruel he shouldn’t be in society but it’s sad he’s mental

@@Anna-yp9zl yeah I think things like this show that no one’s born evil. We really need to do better as a society not to fail children because we consistently see people with a violent childhood commit crimes, if we want to stop them we have to address the root of the issue.

Not everyone handles situations like that in the same way, everyone is wired differently, not an excuse but surely an explanation.

🤔🙄

@@lesleyhughes3174 please put some substance behind those emoji’s

@@snakeeyes037 words mean absolutely nothing to some. I show my disgust in that ignorance by way of emojis because more words are a total waste of time. And, substance!

So that society as a whole can know what to do to prevent this happening as much as it does.

FABULOUS point!

I noticed that. Didn’t do that any other time

And the phone ringtone. I almost thought they put emotional music lol

She died of cancer like a year ago a few months after speaking with Cruz in prison for the first time

Drinking reduces the sperm count but doesn't impeded develop of said sperm once fertilized

She got her client the best possible outcome.

No, you don't. You are not qualified to compare.

I don't really?

He knew he was doing wrong. That’s why he left the gun & vest & ran.

He was taken away and given a fighting chance. He choose not to take it. His adoptive mom got him help, gave him love and they didn’t struggle from being poor. She even let him have his real half brother to grow up with. The poor mom was always calling the cops on them. Now they are getting money from a reality show after all those kids died. This is all so gross.

You understand his adoptive mother (who died along with the adopted father)‘a ability to parent WAY different than I understood it.

@@kimkr9925 perhaps I saw parts of the trial that you didn’t. The adoptive dad died way before the mom. The mom died after he was of age and out of school. Also even though he was 19 when she past he had a home with family friends afterwards. He was not on the street without help.

He was removed and given a loving home. He deserves no excuses, and this is coming from someone who had a hard life and has a diagnosed personality disorder (same diagnosis as him actually) - he is a MONSTER who deserves NO excuses or pity

Which means suing yourself because taxpayer $ will pay for the suit.

@@dmurph1320 I am not from the US so won’t be paid by me :)

They did. There are still lawsuits that are ongoing.

@@missaretha1969 interesting, is there going to be a trial at some point?

cruz is the only perpetrator here

If I were one of the parents, I’d be doing more than coughing.

Um, it’s actually the judge that’s coughing if you pay attention. I don’t think she has an agenda.

@@stephanieann1213 I watched the entire thing and saw absolutely nothing to suggest it was the judge who was coughing. Regardless, it's beyond infuriating.

@@dmurph1320 Then you probably wouldn't be permitted in the court room 🤷‍♀️

@@OhCrumbs96 then you need to start over and watch again.

A little too late, don't you think? And it's happening there every day. Your system has been failing children and their parents for much too many years.

Derek, thank you for your efforts at a parent. Cruz knew what he planned was wrong. Or he would not have hidden it, & wouldn’t have left the gun & vest & try to escape. Imagine all the criminals out there watching to see if they can se their own sob story.

@@dmurph1320 I think you confuse few things . Knowing what you do is wrong as - I know because I feel it , or I know the consequences or just knowing because you remember it is wrong. People with brain damage should be in institutions not in prisons. Does every child with brain damage ends up to be a murderer- no. There are other factors such as proper support, training, therapy, even family life. Many things have to go wrong for this to happen. In this case it did. It’s same with psychopath brain. Around 20% of people have development of the brain that can make them a psychopath but 20% are not psychopaths. It is important to invest into proper help for kids, encouraging families with 2 parents , not single motherhood, limit access to guns, make sure children are diagnosed properly and are isolated from people when have to be.

@@dmurph1320 Completely agree.

@@petrasmiles1029 Be very careful about making sweeping statements like what you just stated above, "People with brain damage should be in institutions, not prisons". People with disabilities do NOT check their civil rights at the door, they do still have the right to be educated and live in the "least restrictive environment", this is legal language, and it is a fact. The truth is so many of us walk around in our normal everyday life, working full time jobs, married with families, and are actually sporting a "damaged brain", and they'll never know it till they might come through an ER and require a brain scan. The brain is an amazing organ and it can repair itself from damage over time, other parts of the brain can be taught to do things that are normally done in different areas of the brain. Having the desire and the will to succeed and have a good life makes that job so much easier. If you don't want to do the work, or you can't do the work, things are going to be much more difficult for you. The person must want ,and have the desire to succeed ad have a good life.

And if you were on trial, guilty or not, you’d be happy the law requires you to have representation.

And your breed is?

He knew and planned to kill those people. He gave no mercy or sympathy. He went back and shot injured people over again and again until they were dead. He deserves the same mercy he gave them. That's the answer. What the parents want of the victims is the answer.

No death penalty truely unjustified actions to Cruz shooting killing 17 and some of them had 12 gun shots in one person some have lest then more than the others and these teenagers didn't deserve anything but future of life that were supposed to happen but no jealous Cruz actions unjustified actions to kill these teenagers and hurt 17 more that survive And still they have the gun articles inside the body's

@@specialk4107 Right he did all of those things and he is responsible but isn’t showing mercy to those that wouldn’t show it to us what makes us morally superior? Doesn’t it make us a “better” society to lock him up for the rest of his life instead of killing him? Personally I think the families should have a definite say in the outcome here but he did commit these crimes years before his (already damaged) brain was fully developed..

@@specialk4107 👀🦻🦻you have these? Just chose not to use them right?

@Boston Gal ok prison then to be precise. 😆

Whatever gets the thumbnails and views right

Public defenders do NOT get paid alot.

I thought the same thing

Dont think he’s going there lol Wrong direction.

that's her job??????? okay Gary

🤔🙄

And what punishment can we give the FBI, who are very complicit in this tragedy? Does $127.5 million really absolve them of their neglect? This incident should never have happened.

It’s not like I could hate this person . We just need to set an example for all mass shooters . So if they don’t take there own life in the act or eliminated by the police , they will be executed within a week .

@@Desperado583 nice thx❤️

Yes, But its very hard to be both.

He spent all of his inheritance What a horrible young man

Your argument is flawed, erroneous and frankly puerile.

Eso no va pasar nunca , deberías leer bien y saber dónde estás viendo ! Subtítulos pides ? Encerio ?

I went to a private school and the bullying was every bit as bad if not worse but, hey I live in Australia and guns are not as easily accessible here, not that I ever thought of doing such a thing but, the bullying at private school was the worst. School Children just need to quit the bullying.