The gunman who killed 17 people at a Florida high school in 2018 pleaded guilty Wednesday to as many first-degree murder charges, and the legal question in the case now turns to whether he will be sentenced to death, U-S-A Today reports. Attorneys for 23-year-old Nikolas Cruz have said they will argue against the death penalty for their client. A sentencing trial is expected in the coming months. Each murder charge carries a minimum of life in prison without parole, and the attempted murder charges carry either 20 or 25 years as minimums. At Wednesday's hearing, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced Cruz to nearly 26 years in prison on charges stemming from an attack on a jail guard nine months after the shooting.

The gunman who killed 17 people at a Florida high school in 2018 pleaded guilty Wednesday to as many first-degree murder charges, and the legal question in the case now turns to whether he will be sentenced to death, U-S-A Today reports. Attorneys for 23-year-old Nikolas Cruz have said they will argue against the death penalty for their client. A sentencing trial is expected in the coming months. Each murder charge carries a minimum of life in prison without parole, and the attempted murder charges carry either 20 or 25 years as minimums. At Wednesday's hearing, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced Cruz to nearly 26 years in prison on charges stemming from an attack on a jail guard nine months after the shooting.

News briefs from the state of Florida.

Florida News Briefs - Florida Podcast

News Briefs from the state of Florida.