FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—The final phase of jury selection in the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz began Wednesday with prosecutors and defense attorneys asking candidates about their job histories, opinions on law enforcement, whether they own guns, and if they could handle viewing gruesome crime scene photos.
The final 83 candidates remaining from about 1,800 who began the three-step process back on April 4 are being brought back to Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s courtroom in four groups over two days, the first undergoing questioning Wednesday morning.
The 12 men and six women in that group come from diverse backgrounds. An airline pilot. A bank vice president who served in the French military. Grocery store and Walmart workers. A loading dock supervisor, a human resources manager, a special education teacher, a new self-help author, a librarian, computer techs, a longshoreman, and retirees. They appeared to range from their 20s through their 60s. About half said they own guns. Some are U.S. military veterans….