Florida
Florida high school shooter’s penalty trial set to begin
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The penalty trial of Florida faculty shooter Nikolas Cruz begins Monday with the jury listening to opening statements after which the primary proof concerning the 2018 bloodbath that left 14 college students and three workers members lifeless at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive Faculty.
The seven-man, five-woman panel, backed up by 10 alternates, will hear from lead prosecutor Mike Satz, who is predicted to focus on Cruz’s brutality as he stalked a three-story classroom constructing, firing his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle down hallways and into school rooms. Cruz typically walked again to wounded victims and killed them with a second volley of photographs.
Cruz, 23, pleaded responsible in October to 17 counts of first-degree homicide; the one factor he’s contesting is the demise penalty sentence that prosecutors are searching for. The jurors can solely sentence him to demise or life with out the opportunity of parole for the Feb. 14, 2018, shootings. The trial for the previous Stoneman Douglas pupil, anticipated to final about 4 months, was supposed to start in 2020, however the COVID-19 pandemic and authorized fights delayed it.
The protection attorneys gained’t say when they are going to ship their opening statements: firstly of the trial or after they start presenting their case weeks from now. The latter technique can be uncommon and dangerous as a result of it could give the prosecution the one say earlier than jurors look at grisly proof and listen to heartrending testimony from taking pictures survivors and the victims’ dad and mom and spouses.
If lead defender Melisa McNeill provides her assertion, she is going to seemingly emphasize that Cruz is a younger grownup with lifelong emotional and psychological issues who allegedly suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and abuse. The aim can be to mood the jurors’ feelings as they hear the prosecution’s case, making them extra open to contemplating the protection’s arguments later.
The Parkland taking pictures is the deadliest to achieve trial in U.S. historical past. 9 different gunmen who killed not less than 17 individuals died throughout or instantly after their shootings, both by suicide or police gunfire. The suspect within the 2019 slaying of 23 individuals at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart is awaiting trial.
After openings, that are restricted to 90 minutes every, the prosecutors’ first witness will likely be referred to as. They haven’t mentioned who that will likely be.
When the jury finally will get the case this fall, it’s going to vote 17 occasions on the query of whether or not to suggest the demise penalty: as soon as for every of the victims.
Each vote have to be unanimous; a nonunanimous vote for any one of many victims means Cruz’s sentence for that individual can be life in jail. The jurors are advised that to vote for the demise penalty, the annoying circumstances the prosecution has offered for the sufferer in query should, of their judgment, “outweigh” mitigating components offered by the protection.
Whatever the proof, any juror can vote for all times in jail out of mercy. Throughout jury choice, the panelists mentioned beneath oath that they’re able to voting for both sentence.
Florida
Who is Brady Singer? Reds’ new pitcher was Jonathan India’s Florida Gators teammate
Terry Francona joins the Reds as their new Manager
Terry Francona joins the Reds as their new Manager.
Brady Singer, the right-handed starting pitcher the Cincinnati Reds acquired Friday in a trade of Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to the Kansas City Royals, was India’s teammate with the University of Florida Gators from 2016 to 2018.
Singer and India were separated by just 13 picks in the 2018 MLB draft, with the Reds selecting India fifth overall and the Royals taking Singer 18th.
Together they helped the Gators to the 2017 College World Series championship. Singer started and won two games in the CWS. India was a key contributor for the 2017 team despite an injury, and he earned SEC Player of the Year honors as a 2018 All-American, lifting Florida to a 2018 CWS win in an elimination game with an RBI single and three-run homer against Texas.
Singer was the Royals’ first-round pick in 2018.
The Baltimore Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez (11th overall) and the Seattle Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (14th), among the top pitchers in the American League last season, were two of the players selected between India at fifth overall and Singer at 18th.
Later in the first round, the Royals also took Jackson Kowar, a Florida teammate of India and Singer, 33rd overall.
At Florida, Singer posted a 23-10 record and 3.22 ERA. In his final college season, Singer was named Baseball America National Player of the Year, and won the Dick Howser Trophy as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s top college baseball player.
Singer’s high school, Florida’s Eustis HS, produced another former Reds draft pick.
Catcher Chris Okey starred at Eustis, a couple of years before Singer. He played three seasons at Clemson before the Reds made him their second-round pick in the 2016 MLB draft. Okey had two hits in 13 plate appearances for the Reds in 2022.
Singer played at Tavares High School and transferred to Eustis before his senior season. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 2015 MLB draft, but opted instead to pitch for the Gators.
Singer pitched six shutout innings at GABP in the Royals’ win against the Reds in August.
Singer scattered five hits and walked one while striking out six in Kansas City’s 8-1 win. India had one of those five hits.
It was the only start out of 10 Singer made in August and September that he won.
Singer’s only other career start against the Reds came in July 2021. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk while striking out six over six innings in a no-decision. India walked and singled off of Singer.
Singer struck out the only batter he faced in the 2024 postseason.
In Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, Singer entered a 2-2 game in the top of the 7th inning and struck out American League MVP Aaron Judge to end the inning.
One inning later, the Royals’ Kris Bubic gave up a solo home run to Giancarlo Stanton, which proved to be the difference in a 3-2 win.
Florida
ACC v FSU Update: 11 States Join Florida, File Brief To Protect Sovereign Immunity
More than 10 states have joined the State of Florida in an amicus brief to support its fight over state’s rights after a North Carolina judge ruled Florida State University (a public university) waived its “sovereign immunity” by voluntarily dealing with the Atlantic Coast Conference
READ MORE: Former FBS Coach With Ties To Mike Norvell Spotted At Florida State’s Practice
Earlier this year, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued the ACC after it failed to provide the details of the Grant of Rights agreement between the Conference and ESPN, which has been one of the focal points of both lawsuits.
Mecklenburg County (North Carolina) Judge Louis A. Bledsoe ruled that Florida State waived its sovereign immunity by being a member of the Conference, making the secrecy of the agreement between the ACC and ESPN legitimate.
The ACC has since released the (heavily redacted) details of the Grant of Rights agreement.
AG Moody claims the agreement is public record under Florida law, but the ACC – and Mecklenburg County Judge Louis A. Bledsoe – disagrees.
AG Moody’s argument in the lawsuit is that it does not matter if Florida State does business with the ACC outside of state lines, all records – due to Florida law – are public records.
The states alongside Florida involved in the amicus brief supporting the FSU Board of Trustees include Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.
Part of the amicus brief states:
“Each of the fifty states enjoys immunity under the U.S. Constitution from lawsuits to which they have not consented. Embracing a long history of sovereign immunity, the Constitution requires a state’s consent before a federal court or another state’s court can exercise jurisdiction over that state. The States have an interest in preserving the rights secured to them and their constituent institutions by the U.S. Constitution, including the immunity of their public universities from suit in other states’ courts without the States’ clear and unequivocal consent.”
In short, the states believe the ruling from Judge Bledsoe – should it become precedent – threatens the authority of each individual state guaranteed by the Constitution.
It is uncertain how this brief will affect the ongoing competing lawsuits between FSU and the Atlantic Coast Conference, but it could result in the case being thrown out and solidify a precedent protecting state’s rights.
READ MORE: Kickoff Time, TV Info Announced For FSU’s Rivalry Game Against Florida Gators
Stick with NoleGameday for more FREE coverage of Florida State Football throughout the 2024 Season
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• FSU Head Coach Mike Norvell Provides Ideal Timeline For Coaching Hires
• Florida State Running Back Could Return For Season-Finale Against Florida Gators
Florida
Florida deputy 'fighting for his life' following crash that killed 2 colleagues
A Florida deputy is “fighting for his life” Friday after being critically injured in a “horrific accident” that claimed the lives of two of his colleagues, officials say.
Deputy Ignacio Diaz of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was struck Thursday on the shoulder of Southern Boulevard by a female driver who was trying to pass a vehicle on her right, according to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Diaz, along with Cpl. Luis Paez and Deputy Sheriff Ralph Waller, had been conducting traffic enforcement in the area.
“She overcompensated, got off the road and then struck all three of the motor officers, at which time all three went airborne in different directions,” Bradshaw said.
“Hopefully he is going to make it,” Bradshaw added regarding Diaz. “It’s a bad crash. We are jointly investigating this with Florida Highway Patrol.”
FLORIDA SHERIFF BREAKS UP ALLEGED MASSIVE CHECK FRAUD CONSPIRACY
Bradshaw said the accident happened after one of the officers made a traffic stop and then “could not get his motorcycle started, so he thought he had a dead battery.
“So he called the other two over to help him move the bike off the road. They were all three on the grassy area on the shoulder of the road, and they were going to wait for another PBSO vehicle to come with some battery cables,” he continued.
The female driver, who did not appear to be impaired and was traveling in a zone with a 55-mph speed limit, suffered minor injuries in the crash, the sheriff said.
Paez and Waller were airlifted to a hospital, where “they worked on them for as long as they could there,” but “they were injured so badly they just weren’t going to make it,” according to Bradshaw.
2 KENTUCKY POLICE OFFICERS SHOT DURING TRAFFIC STOP ON CAR REPORTED STOLEN
“Law enforcement, public safety and the military are the only professions when you leave the house and kiss your family goodbye, that might be the last time, and here’s the example of it,” Bradshaw said. “When a deputy dies, a piece of the community dies with them. It’s tough.”
The sheriff, who also called the accident “horrific,” said Diaz underwent surgery and is now in critical but stable condition in a local hospital’s ICU.
“This is our hero, Deputy Ignacio ‘Dan’ Diaz, currently fighting for his life. Deputy Diaz joined PBSO in 2004 and has been a valued member of our Motor Unit for over 10 years. We ask for your thoughts and prayers for him and his family during this incredibly difficult time,” the sheriff’s office wrote on its Facebook page.
“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of our brothers, honor their memory, and support their families during this devastating time,” it added in a post announcing the deaths of Paez and Waller.
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As of Friday, it appears no charges have been filed following the accident. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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