Jury Said To Be Sworn In For Parkland Shooter’s Death Penalty Trial

The jury was sworn in on Wednesday for the death penalty trial for the man who killed 17 people at a Florida high school.

At least five of the jurors are gun owners, according to the AP.

Cruz pleaded guilty in April to 17 counts of first-degree murder as part of an apparent legal gamble to avoid the death penalty.

The jury's swearing in is the end of a three-month process that involved more than 1,700 candidates.

In April, the judge overseeing the trial removed an entire panel of potential jurors after a series of emotional eruptions from candidates when they heard they might be placed on the case.

The opening statements will be held on July 18.

Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members at a high school in February of last year. Several of the survivors, along with victims, led the March for Our Lives to push for gun control. The federal government did not pass new gun laws despite the fact that 2 million people participated in demonstrations across the country. Following a massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead, renewed March for Our Lives protests took place this year. The most significant new gun restrictions the federal government has enacted in decades were signed on Saturday by President Joe Biden.

What To Watch For

Jurors will be allowed to visit the three-story building on the campus where Cruz killed 17 people. The state will argue "aggravating" factors to support a death sentence while the defense will present "mitigating factors" Cruz will spend the rest of his life in prison if he is not sentenced to death.

The jury was sworn in to decide the school shooter's punishment.

The jury is being assembled in the death penalty trial.

Biden signs gun control bill into law.

Protesters are in rallies across the U.S. demanding gun control.

The death penalty could still be on the table despite the guilty pleas of the shooter.