FORT LAUREL, Fla. (AP). The former student charged with murdering 17 students at a Florida high-school cannot be called derogatory terms like animal or that thing by prosecutors and their witnesses at his upcoming case. However, the judge ruled that calling the killings a massacre is legal.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer stated in Friday's ruling that it was impossible to compile a list of words jurors should not hear in order to describe Nikolas Cruz in the February 14, 2018 killings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high in Parkland.
She agreed with Cruz's lawyers that Cruz shouldn't be called names like "animal" or "thing" during testimony. This is contrary to what some victims' parents did in media interviews. She said that the defense request to Cruz be called only by his name, or the defendant, was too extreme.
Scherer stated that some terms and words the Defendant requested not to use, such as school shooter or murderer, are not derogatory. These are common words that can be used to describe specific facts.
Cruz's lawyers requested that the killings be referred only to as the incident, mass shooting, or tragedy. She said that this was too extreme, and that terms such as massacre were legitimate, not derogatory, or inflammatory.
She cautioned prosecutors to be professional when referring to Cruz and warned their witnesses to refrain from using derogatory names in testimony about him. She stated that Cruz's lawyers can object to any person crossing the line immediately, and she will rule in court.
She said that a trial is not the right time for attorneys to express their opinions or editorialize about a defendant. The evidence shall be presented by the trial attorneys, and the jury will make its decision based on that evidence.
Cruz, 22 years old, has pleaded not guilt, but his lawyers have stated that he would plead guilty to a life sentence in return for pleading guilty. The death penalty is being sought by the prosecution, but they have declined to accept the offer.
There has not been a trial date.
