FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A jury spared Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz from the death penalty Thursday for killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, sending him to prison for the remainder of his life in a decision that left many families of the victims angered, baffled and in tears."This is insane.
Everyone knows right? This is insane," Chen Wang, cousin of shooting victim Peter Wang, said at a news conference after the jury’s decision was read. "We need justice."One by one, the family members of the victims walked up to the podium to give their statements after the verdict, all of them expressing shock and anger that the jury voted against the death penalty."I'm disgusted with those jurors, I'm disgusted with the system, that you can allow 17 dead and 17 others shot and not get the death penalty," said Dr.
Ilan Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was killed in the shooting. "What do we have the death penalty for? What is the purpose of it?
You set a precedent today."RELATED: Jury in Parkland shooting penalty trial recommends life in prison for Nikolas CruzHe continued, "What were you thinking?