CNN —
Here’s what we know: Nikolas Cruz, now 24, who confessed to killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in February 2018, has avoided the death penalty.
A jury on Thursday recommended that he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a decision that angered many of the victims’ families, who said letting Cruz live was not justice.
“Life in prison IS NOT a punishment!” That’s exactly what he wanted,” wrote Max Schachter, the father of 14-year-old Alex Schachter, who was killed in the massacre, on Twitter. He said the ruling meant Cruz would likely be protected while in custody, able to “read, draw, receive phone calls and mail” while “his 17 victims suffered fear” before kill
These are the victims of the Parkland school shooting
There’s still a lot we don’t know about what the rest of Cruz’s life in prison will look like, most of which will likely be decided after he’s formally sentenced early next month.
But here’s what might come next:
‘Decision is another punch in the gut’: Parkland victim’s father speaks out after Cruz jury recommendation
Thursday’s jury recommendation is just that: a recommendation, not a formal verdict. As of Thursday, jurors have spoken out about what they described as intense deliberations, and one juror said he felt threatened; an allegation that the local sheriff is now investigating.
Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Sherer is expected to formally sentence Cruz on Nov. 1 at 9 a.m., but under Florida law, the judge cannot deviate from the jury’s recommendation of life in prison.
The victims and their family members are expected to speak before the sentencing.
But as for the sentence itself, the jury’s recommendation is final, Broward County Public Defender Gordon Weeks said at a news conference Thursday, adding that in the state, “victims have a constitutional right to be heard at every stage of the proceedings.”
“The court will respect that right and give them an opportunity to be heard.” And we appreciate that and we recognize that and that should be followed,” Weeks said. “However, we also have to recognize that the jury in the case spent several days going through very, very difficult, traumatic evidence and they heard everything, weighed everything and reached a verdict. We have to respect that.”
Cruz also has the right to make a statement at sentencing if he chooses, according to Janet Johnson, a Florida criminal defense attorney.
Cruz, who has been in the Broward County Jail since 2018, was also sentenced to 25 years in state prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a prison officer in November of that year.
He will likely remain in the county jail for several weeks after his sentencing before being booked into the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections and transported to one of several reception centers around the state.
On Thursday, Weeks said Cruz will likely be taken to the South Florida Reception Center.
He will spend several weeks at the reception center “to get physicals, mental health screenings,” Johnson said. “They’re going to look at his record, they’re going to look at the level of offense he’s been convicted of, which is obviously the highest, and they’re going to recommend a facility somewhere in the state.”
The selected facility is determined by “reviewing the seriousness of (the inmate’s) crimes, length of sentence, time remaining to serve, prior criminal record, escape history, prison adaptation and other factors,” according to the Florida Department of Corrections website.
“The most serious offenders with the longest sentences and those least likely to adjust to institutional life are placed in more secure facilities,” the Department of Corrections website notes. Based on these assessments, the person is then transferred to the facility deemed most appropriate.
Because Cruz is a high-risk criminal, he will likely be placed in prison with other high-profile or “very dangerous criminals,” Johnson said.
“But he will not be isolated, which of course is a real threat to him because there may be people who want to dole out ‘justice in prison’ who don’t think the sentence he got in court is enough.” , Johnson added.
According to the Department of Corrections handbook, there are several classifications of inmate confinement, including inmates who “must be kept within an armed perimeter or under direct armed supervision when outside a secure perimeter.”
The Department of Corrections did not respond to CNN’s questions about what kind of custody Cruz might be placed in.
Lead defense attorney Melissa McNeil also hinted at the dangers Cruz will face in prison during his closing arguments in the death penalty trial, saying he will “wait to die” in an institution, “or of natural causes , or whatever else may happen to him while he is in prison.”
And at a news conference after the jury’s recommendation, Linda Bagel Shulman, the mother of geography teacher Scott Bagel, who was killed at the high school, said Cruz would “have to look over his shoulder (in prison) every minute of the rest of his life .”
“I hope that he has the fear within him, every second of his life, just as he has given that fear to every one of our loved ones that he has killed,” she said. “He has to live in that fear and he has to fear every second of the day of his life.”
Parents of the Parkland victims, including Schachter, pointed out the parts of life that Cruz will still be able to experience while in prison have been robbed of their children.
That includes receiving mail and seeing visitors, which he will likely be allowed to do, Johnson said. He may also have a tablet through which he will be able to send emails and text messages to others, Johnson added.
The Department of Corrections website indicated that inmates and their families are allowed to communicate through “interactive, stationary kiosks available in general housing units as well as tablets.” These services are available at all major correctional institutions in Florida, according to the site.
“And you can see the argument (of the victims’ families) saying, ‘We have no right to do this,'” Johnson added. “And that’s understandable.”
The Department of Corrections also did not respond to CNN’s question about what kind of mental health treatment Cruz may receive while in prison.
During the trial, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office released more than 30 pages of Cruz’s writings and drawings that revealed disturbing thoughts he had while in custody focused on guns, blood and death. On one page, Cruz wrote, “All I want is to go to death row. I don’t want life. Please help me go to death row. On another, he turned to his family, telling them he was sad and hoping to die of a heart attack by taking painkillers and overeating.
Additionally, while in prison, Cruz drew pictures of bullets, guns, and people being shot. He wrote that he “never wanted to be alive” and hoped to die and never wake up and “my life is painful, always will be.”
His defense attorney argued that Cruz is a “brain-damaged, mentally ill” individual who, among other conditions, suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder stemming from his mother’s use of substances and alcohol during pregnancy, McNeil said on time for closing arguments.
And Cruz appears to be in control of his behavior in the courtroom, McNeil said, because “he’s been treated and is under psychiatric care. He is being treated by the prison psychologist.
Cruz will receive a psychiatric evaluation when he arrives at the reception center, Johnson said, which will help determine his diagnosis and what medication he may need.
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