FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In less than one week, opening statements are expected to begin to determine whether the Parkland school shooter should be sentenced to life in prison or receive the death penalty.
Pretrial motions continued Tuesday to determine exactly what evidence the jury will see during the trial.
Nikolas Cruz's defense team is making its case that certain key pieces of evidence should be eliminated from the trial. This includes a detailed psychology test that analyzed Cruz and his behaviors as a child.
The defense is standing firm in their opinion that the report should be confidential, but prosecutors said their argument is meaningless, citing conflicting reports between two different psychologists.
Prosecutors on Tuesday dug deep into Cruz's behavior as a child, specifically when he was 6 years old.
They said Cruz was capable of age-appropriate tasks like setting a table, using a microwave and brushing his teeth.
But the defense pointed to a different study that said Cruz had the mindset of a 1-year-old when he was 12 years old and only knew 50 words.
Prosecutors argue that Cruz's school records over the years don't support that claim.
"The defendant brushed his teeth when he was 6-7 years of age, which was indicated at 12 that he didn't," prosecutor Jeff Marcus said. "Whether or not he could zip up a jacket, button a shirt, that he could play a game like Tetris on his phone, these are all relevant questions as to his adaptive behavior."
Meanwhile, it is still unclear when Judge Elizabeth Scherer will decide on whether Cruz's internet searches and social media posts will be shown to jurors, which contain his dark thoughts about mass shootings, racial slurs and his obsession with Adolf Hitler.
