WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jurors in the Parkland school shooter's sentencing trial are currently weighing the gunman's fate behind closed doors.
So, what could they be discussing or even debating?
WPTV spoke with a West Palm Beach attorney who has tried death penalty cases and was also part of a jury.
Attorney Valentin Rodriguez said the first thing to keep in mind is that these jurors went through a more selective process to ensure they do not have any fundamental opposition to the death penalty and agreed to consider it in this case.
"Having served on a jury myself, I know what happens behind the doors, and what we think happens isn't necessarily what happens," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said jurors in these cases cannot help but feel the weight and responsibility of their own decision about sending someone — even an admitted killer — to die.
"The biggest issue I think for the jury is to determine how particularly heinous is this crime, and if they're going to determine that it was so heinous that that factor outweighs all the other factors that would be mitigating, such as his background and mental health issue," Rodriguez said.
There are also other factors involved that he said can affect jurors, such as disturbing photos and emotional testimony.
"There may be something they saw on the news they remembered," Rodriguez said. "There may be something in their own lives ... One of the victims [may have] looked like their children, or looks like a friend. Any number of factors go into a verdict."
He also said he expects this jury to take some time to go over each of the 17 decisions they'll make and also consider the lengthy jury instructions from the judge.
The instructions can be full of legal jargon, and it's very likely they will go over the instructions frequently.
