Comment The last thing Fred Gutenberg said to his 14-year-old daughter was that it was time to go, that it would be late. Hours after rushing his two children to school that Valentine’s Day morning in 2018, a gunman opened fire inside a high school in Parkland, Florida — killing 17 people, including Jaime Guttenberg. During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing for convicted shooter Nikolas Cruz, Guttenberg’s voice cracked as he talked about the imagined future he had for Jaime, a future that never came to be. But they weren’t the only tears being shed in court — members of Cruz’s defense team were also crying, videos show. “I can’t remember if I ever actually told Jaime that day how much I loved her. I never knew I would miss the opportunity to say it again and again and again,” Guttenberg said as public defender Nawal Najet Bashiman dabbed her eyes with a tissue. Two others from Cruz’s team also shed tears during testimony Tuesday. Jurors have heard from teachers, survivors and families whose lives were upended by the massacre since the trial began on July 18. They’ve seen videos of students running for their lives and heard the screams and loud bangs that echoed through the air that day — all to determine whether Cruz, who pleaded guilty in October, should sentenced to death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors supporting the death penalty are basing their arguments on seven of the aggravating factors set out in state law, including that Cruz’s actions were “particularly heinous, horrific or cruel.” “These actions, killing 14 children, the athletic director, the coach and a teacher, are why we are here today — cold, calculating, manipulative and deadly,” Broward County State’s Attorney Michael Sachs said in his opening statement. In Florida, the death penalty requires a unanimous jury recommendation. If sentenced to death, Cruz, now 23, would be one of the youngest people to receive the death penalty in decades. Defense attorneys for Cruz — who had proposed a guilty plea in exchange for a life sentence — have previously painted a picture of a troubled young man who has shown signs of remorse after struggling with mental health and a difficult childhood. However, they announced on July 18 that they would not be giving an opening statement until it was time to present their case in the coming weeks. Four years after Parkland school shooting, victims’ parents protest and mourn In the meantime, however, the proceedings have been filled with testimony from parents who have shared heartbreak after heartbreak — stirring emotion even for those working to save Cruz’s life. It’s rare for lawyers to cry in the courtroom — especially “based on something the other side has said,” said Keith Swisher, a professor of legal ethics at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law. Since this is “an incredibly overwhelming, heated and informal case,” it is unlikely to have adverse consequences for lawyers, he said. However, it could lead to Cruz seeking a new adviser, he added. “In a typical legal case … the client would likely feel betrayed and perhaps the wrong message would be sent to the judge or jury if the client’s attorney cried foul over the opposing side’s evidence or arguments,” Swisher said. “If crying, or other visible signals, are likely to bias the jury against the defendant, the defendant may have grounds to appeal.” On Tuesday, Thomas and Jenna Hoyer described how the loss of their 15-year-old son, Luke – affectionately called ‘Lucky Barr’ by his mother – had irreparably fractured what had been “a family of five always trying to fit into a world configured for even numbers,” Thomas Hoyer said. Luke was a “surprise baby”, coming along several years after his older siblings. That morning on February 14th, he woke up to a bag of Skittles and a card from his mother. His father, on his way to work, called ‘Good day’ from downstairs without seeing Luke’s face — the kind of casual exchange you have when you think you’ve been together forever,” Hoyer said, “and then we did it” t.” During Hoyers’ victim impact statement, public defenders Bashiman and Tamara Curtis couldn’t hold back tears. Solicitor General Melisa McNeill wiped hers. Cruz sat speechless. Soon after, Judge Elizabeth Scherer called for a 10-minute break. As those in court got up and began cleaning the room, crumpled tissues could be seen on the table where the defense team sat – they would use them again.
