Parkland shooter sentenced to life in prison without parole

Nikolas Cruz
(Image credit: AMY BETH BENNETT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, 24, was on Wednesday sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Cruz was responsible for the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 that left 17 people dead.

Judge Elizabeth Scherer gave Cruz 17 life sentences along with an additional 17 for those he attempted to kill but ended up wounding, reports The Associated Press. Last month, a jury recommended a life sentence and not the death penalty for Cruz, angering many of the victims' families, CNN reports. "It is heartbreaking how any person who heard and saw all this did not give this killer the worst punishment possible," said Annika Dworet, mother of 17-year-old victim Nicholas Dworet.

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Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.