Perpetrators of US school massacre in 2018 sentenced to life in prison Musk: Twitter blue tick only in $8 subscription

More than four years after the massacre at a school in the American city of Parkland, the perpetrator has been sentenced to life imprisonment. The judge at the competent court in the state of Florida officially announced the verdict on Wednesday. The jury in the trial had recommended life imprisonment for the killer in mid-October — and not the death penalty, as demanded by prosecutors and the victims’ relatives. The judge was bound by the jury’s decision.

On February 14, 2018, the then 19-year-old gunman shot 14 teens and three adults at the Parkland school with a legally purchased semi-automatic rifle, injuring other people. After the crime, surviving students had started protests against gun violence and for tougher gun laws in the US, which became a nationwide movement. However, guns remain readily available in the United States and school shootings are common.

After the conviction, relatives were given the opportunity in the courtroom to approach the perpetrator themselves. In the emotional performances, they spoke of their grief, but also expressed anger, disappointment and incomprehension that the perpetrator was not sentenced to death. (saw/sda/dpa)