As it happened: Verdict reached in Parkland gunman's death penalty trial

1. A 12-member jury has voted not to give the death penalty to the gunman responsible for the Parkland shooting
2. The jury recommended life imprisonment without a chance of parole
3. Nikolas Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty last year to killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in February 2018
4. Families of the victims are sharing their devastation that he has been spared the death penalty
5. The father of Alyssa Alhadeff, who died in the shooting, said: "I'm disgusted with our legal system, with those jurors"
6. It is the deadliest mass shooting to reach a jury trial in the US
7. The massacre sparked a wave of anti-gun protests around the US as well as the March for Our Lives movement

Thank you - and goodbye

Thank you for following along with us today. We are now closing the live page - but our coverage does not end here.

• WATCH - Parkland shooting: Families of victims wrestled with death penalty decision
• READ - Parkland: Families devastated as Florida school shooting gunman spared death
• LEARN MORE - Florida shooting: Who are the victims?

The writers today were Laura Gozzi, Nadine Yousif, Jack Burgess, Mike Wendling and Bernd Debusmann with analysis from Sam Cabral in Florida and Nomia Iqbal in Washington, DC. The page was edited by Marianna Brady and Indrani Basu.

Public defender: 'Time to begin the process of healing'

The public defender for the Parkland school gunman just gave a statement to the press. He said it’s time for the community to begin the “process of healing”.

“I hope that we as a community can respect the verdict that was rendered, respect the process that was had, and understand that those jurors have spoken,” he said.

Responding to a question he said, the jury’s verdict is final but victims have a constitutional right to be heard at every stage of the proceeding.

“And the court is going to respect that right and give them the opportunity to be heard,” he added.

He also had a word for the jurors.

“We have to also recognise that the jurors in this case after a number of days have heard very, very difficult traumatic evidence. And they heard it all and they weighed it all and they rendered a verdict. We have to respect that.”

How many jurors voted against the death penalty?

We've just learned that jury foreman Benjamin Thomas told CBS Miami that three of the 12 jurors voted to spare the gunman.

Thomas said one juror had been a “hard no” on executing the gunman, because she believed he was mentally ill. Thomas said that two other jurors ultimately came to the same decision.

When asked how he felt about the victims families' disappointment, Thomas said: "I fully understand. It didn’t go the way I would’ve liked or the way I voted, but that’s how the jury system works - everybody gets to vote, everybody gets to decide."

He also said that serving on the jury had been "awful" because of having to view and listen to the evidence. The court was showed evidence "you never wanted to see and never want to see again".

State attorney: 'We thank the jurors for their service'

Harold Pryor, the state's attorney, thanked jurors, the courts and law enforcement for their work on the case.

He also thanked the families of the victims for their patience.

He said that, to his knowledge, "this is the first time that the full story of a community's loss and all the relevant facts have been told about a mass shooting of this magnitude".

The community, he said, "will never find closure," but he hopes the verdict will bring "some measure of justice to this terrible chapter".

Learn more about how families of the victims have wrestled with what justice means for them.

If you're just joining us

Here is a recap of what happened in the sentencing verdict for the Parkland school gunman:

• A 12-member jury has voted not to give the death penalty to the gunman responsible for the Parkland shooting in which 17 people died in 2018
• The jury recommended life imprisonment without a chance of parole
• Families of victims have expressed shock and disappointment at the verdict
• All jurors would have needed to vote unanimously in order for him to be put to death

• The decision marks a blow for prosecutors, who had sought to prove that the crime was “cold, calculated and premeditated”
• The formal sentencing will follow in November

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis 'very disappointed'

Reuters

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has reacted to the verdict, saying he is disappointed in the outcome.

In "a case where you're massacring those students with premeditation... you deserve the death penalty," DeSantis told reporters.

"I just don't think anything else is appropriate."

He added he is disappointed the legal system took four years to reach this conclusion, adding the system "is not serving the victims".

'What is a death penalty for?'

The level of shock visible on the faces of family members after the jury’s decision not to impose the death penalty cannot be overstated.

There’s a sense of disbelief, angst and disgust at the verdict. Again and again they have asked “what is a death penalty for?”

“How can the mitigating factors make this shooter, who they recognised committed terrible acts — shooting some victims more than once... pressing the barrel of his weapon to my daughter’s chest,” Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina was killed in the school, said.

“That doesn’t outweigh that poor little what’s-his-name had a tough upbringing."

'Something is wrong in this country'

Family of Helena Ramsay, a Parkland shooting victim, say they are upset with the verdict.

"Something is wrong in this country," says her mother, Anne, whose family moved to the US from England.

Helena's cousin Michelle Thomas, who is visibly angry, tells reporters that families still have to live with the grief of losing their loved ones.

Sparing the gunman the death penalty because of his upbringing sets the wrong precedent for punishment of murder, she adds.

The defence has argued the gunman's mother drank heavily during pregnancy, impacting his brain. They asked the jury to grant him a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

"There's plenty of people that have drunk and had kids, and they didn't turn out into killers," she says.

'How can he live another day?'

Lynn Chen, cousin of Parkland shooting victim Peter Wang, says: "We are just shocked by this result and it is so unjust."

"How can he live another day?" she asks.

Chen says the jurors did not consider the trauma the families continue to live through. She adds she thought today would bring some comfort.

"All the moms are suffering," she says angrily.

"They have to live knowing the fact that the murder is in jail every single day, eating, breathing and getting help by lawyers."

After the shooting, it was revealed that the 15-year-old spent his last moments trying to save lives. One of his family members told local news that Peter held one of the school doors open helping other flee.

'The verdict should have been the death penalty'

Parkland parent: 'He should be afraid every second of the day'

Linda Schulman, mother of Parkland shooting victim Scott Beigel, said the jury's verdict should have been the death penalty.

"Why do we have the death penalty at all?" she asks.

"My son was murdered along with 16 other people, and this animal is still going to have life in prison without parole," she says.

"I hope he has the fear in him every second of his life, just the way he gave that fear to everyone of our loved ones that he murdered."

She adds the verdict does not bring any closure.

"There's no closure when your son is murdered," Schulman says.

Parkland mom: 'Completely devastated and shocked'

Parkland wife: 'Completely devastated and shocked'

Debbi Hixon, the wife of Chris Hixon who was murdered at Parkland, is speaking now.

"I am completely devastated and shocked... What the verdict says that [the gunman's] life means more than the 17 that were murdered," she says.

"Even if every single one of those mitigating circumstances was true... how does any one of them outweigh those aggravating factors that [the jury] agreed are true?"

Her husband was the athletic director at the school. He ran into the building that day to try to stop the gunman.

I am stunned and devastated - victim's father

Parkland parent: 'He will die in prison'

The father of Jaime Guttenberg is giving a statement now.

He says: "I'm stunned and devastated. There are 17 victims that did not receive justice today... My daughter was shot running down a hallway. What mitigating factors did he have? This jury failed our families today.

"But the monster is gonna go to prison and in prison I hope and pray he receives the kind of mercy from other prisoners that he showed my daughter and 16 others. He's gonna go to prison and he will die in prison and I will be waiting."

"He should've received the death sentence today."

Today's ruling 'a gut punch', victim's father says

Parkland parent: 'Today's ruling a gut punch'

The father of Gina Montalto says "today's ruling was yet another gut punch".

He said the sentence "fails to punish the perpetrator to the full extent of the law".

Asked what he was thinking about as the sentence was read out, he says: "How can [there be] mitigating factors [that made] this shooter commit these terrible acts? Shooting some victims more than once, pressing the barrel of his weapon to my daughter's chest... society needs to really look and re-examine who and what is a victim."

I'm disgusted with the legal system - father of victim

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The father of one of the victims, Alyssa Alhadeff, says: "I'm disgusted with our legal system, with those jurors, with the system - that you can allow 17 dead and 17 other shot and wounded and not give the death penalty."

"What do we have the death penalty for? What is the purpose of it? You set a precedent today for the next mass killing that nothing happens to you, you'll get life in jail. That's not okay," he says.

Mother of victim says 'we have to do so much more'

Parkland parent: 'Law enforcement do your job!'

The mother of Alyssa Alhadeff, Lori, says that "we have to do so much more to prevent the next school shooting because this cannot happen".

She says she has "been fighting to get Alyssa's law passed nationally... so that if there's an emergency law enforcement can get on the scene as fast as possible and take down the threat. Law enforcement need to do their job," she says. "Your job as a police officer is to go and engage and take down the threat. If you can't do that, don't do the job," she adds.

Following the shooting, Alyssa's family lobbied heavily to pass a law known as "Alyssa's law", which calls for silent safety alarms to be installed in schools in the event of an emergency so that police can arrive as quickly as possible.

The law has been passed in Florida, New York and New Jersey.

You can read more about Lori's activism here.

What punishment does a man who murdered 17 people deserve?

Nomia Iqbal

BBC News, Washington

Unlike many other mass shooters - who are killed by police or die by suicide - Nikolas Cruz has lived to see a jury answer that question.

They have decided he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

His guilt was never in doubt but after a day of deliberations the jurors accepted whilst he was eligible for the death penalty, he had mental health disorders from the moment he was born.

His mother had abused alcohol and drugs whilst pregnant with him.

But victims families wanted an eye for an eye – his life for their children’s lives.

Many scowled, shook their heads, wiped away tears… some even walked out of court.

Cruz sat hunched showing little reaction.

AMY BETH BENNETT/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Parkland reshaped America’s debate on firearms after surviving students went on to create one of the biggest gun reform movement in decades.

But this case also reignited debate around the use of another thorny issue in America: capital punishment with some arguing more killing isn’t the answer.

The US is the only western nation that carries the death penalty.

Florida is a very punitive state – it’s where many death row inmates are based but Cruz won’t be amongst them.

He has avoided the death penalty but will never be released from jail.

Families speak at press conference

A press conference with some of the victims' families has just started. We'll bring you live updates about what they say.

Prosecutors ask for final sentencing to be delayed

Sam Cabral

Reporting from Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The judge sought to sentence Nikolas Cruz immediately after the verdict was issued - but prosecutors have asked for an opportunity for victims to present impact statements and speak about the jury’s recommended sentence before that happens.

The sentencing will take place on 1 November.

After the verdict was read, family members filed out of the courtroom and many headed straight for the exit.

Parkland families react as verdict read

Parkland family reacts as gunman verdict read

BreakingNo death penalty

The jury has recommended that the 24-year-old Parkland school shooter will be spared the death penalty and will instead spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The decision marks a blow for prosecutors, who had sought to prove that the crime was “cold, calculated and premeditated” and met the state’s definition of “aggravating factors” that warrant the death penalty.