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tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  October 13, 2022 7:00am-8:00am PDT

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so just keep that in the back of mind. even small percentages are going to lead to significant numbers of these head impacts. but i think what we've learned more than anything else, while we pay attention to concussions, these sub con cussive hits, the more like lie you are to have long-term problems and develop a concussion so your brain could get set up for a concussion. if you try to minimize head impacts, focusing on practices and specific drills sh this is data that i think that is, you know, emerging data that people could now use to try and make this a safer game. it is tough to make it safe. it could be a violent sport as we've talked about over the past couple of weeks. but this could help. especially in some of the younger players. >> yeah, the safetier you could make it, as early as possible the better overall for the players.
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dr. sanjay gupta, great to have you analyst on. we appreciate it. >> thanks bianna. and good morning, everybody. i'm bianna golodryga. the jury in the death penalty trial of nikolas cruz, the parkland school shooter has reached a decision on whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. cnn's carlos suarez is outside of the courthouse in fort lauderdale. what more could you tell us about this? >> reporter: so we're expecting that the jury's verdict will be read in court at 10:30 this morning. they only spent a single day deliberating whether or not nikolas cruz is going to dry for his actions at marjorie stoneman d douglas. one of the last things they did yesterday was ask to see the ar-15 that cruz used to kill 17
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people in parkland, florida. the jury's decision on death does have to be unanimous. so they all have to agree that cruz should die for these murders. if there is a holdout in my of the charges, then cruz would be essentially told that he will have to spend the rest of his life in prison. the deliberation process really, again, was quite, quite short. we were expecting this could take a few more days because each of the 17 counts have four pages worth of questions. however, word came this morning that shortly after the jury took a look at that ar-15, they have reached a decision. we're expecting that to be read at 10:30 in the morning. they all have to be on the same page on death if not he will dry in prison. >> convicted of killing 14 students and three staff members in 2018. we'll bring that you decision live at 10:30 when its. carlos, thank you. well we're also following
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several other major stories this morning. january 6 select committee expected to unveil new message that former president donald trump is still a danger to democracy. >> we have a bunch of new documentary evidence and statements that establish the central role that donald trump played in his overwhelming culpability in these events. >> sources say there will be no live witnesses but it will feature new details they uncovered this summer. this is the final public event before the midterm elections and they're expected to treat it as a closing argument. i want to bring in cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider. >> the committee will be presenting testimony from witnesses they've already interviewed and plus new video and documentary evidence. but at the same time, members will be tieing all of the new
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evidence with previously revealed evidence. and they say they want to focus on the former president's state of mind and his involvement in the events of january 6 as they unfolded. crucially here, sources have told our team that the committee is going to hammer home this idea that donald trump remains a clear and present danger to democracy. and the committee has a lot to show case. since the last hearing in july, members have interviewed more members of trump's cabinet, that includes treasury secretary steve mnuchin and mike pompeo and elaine chao plus they did sit down with clarence thomas's wife to find out more about her texts to the former chief of staff mark meadows about overturning the election, her emails disputing the election results. plus the committee has received more than 1 million communications from the secret service. that includes emails, other planning documents, all from the lead-up to january 6.
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all about the preparation of secret service, what they knew as well. but bianna, the committee does say that the hearing will look different from the ones we've seen in the past. all of those had a specific theme. this will be in a compilation and continuing to drive home that point from the committee about the danger that the former president still poses. >> and they say it will include new information as well. a lot of new information. j jessica schneider, thank you. i'm joining by elliott williams. so we were talking off air about this. it could be hard to keep track of all of the investigations touching the former president. we have possible charges in new york and georgia and justice department investigations into the events of january 6. okay. so i think all of it. so how does today's hearing factor into all of that. >> it is a lot. and people will be foregiven for getting lost. but how did we end up with the
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january 6 committee if the first place. there was fighting in congress but congress passed a law calling for a select committee to investigate and report what happened in january 6. now that -- these are the hearing that we've seen. behind the scenes have been meeting with witnesses and researchers and so on. so now report what is going on here a. the end of the process put out a big report. what is that going to look like? i think the clearest parallel going back for those of us old enough to remember, the 9/11 commission report which laid out number one in quite good detail what happened that led to the events of 9/11. but also made a number of recommendations as to laws that could be changed. people who can be hired by the government, positions by the government to make sure that this kind of thing never happens again. and i think that is sort of what we're going to see from congress. >> so the previous hearings featured testimony from many witnesses. who haven't we heard from. >> so a number of -- so, william
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barr, we've seen the former attorney general of the united states who sort of in somewhat captivating testimony laid out that he said that former president was delusional. these were some of the great witnesses that the committee has heard from. cassidy hutchinson, a former white house aide with a colorful tale about the president throwing a bottle of ketchup against the wall and the violence. and there was never a serious claim that we would hear from donald trump or mike pence, or vice president of the united states. people have been clamoring for that testimony. it was never going to happen. mark meadows never did appear publicly. he aprovided some documents but at end of the day we didn't see him. the public hasn't seen public testimony from ginny thomas, clarence thomas's wife as jet jess was reporting. maybe we'll see this today.
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but i've done this a lot. a lot of witnesses don't appear publicly ant at end of the day they probably got a lot of useful information out of here but we'll see. >> like mike pompeo or elaine chao later on today. >> is there is a few big ones that the committee haez hasn't gotten to the bottom of. we know about the communications between donald trump and roger stone and roger stone and extremists, right. but was there direct communication between any of these folks. number one, number two missing secret service messages there is still a lot of information that we don't know from text messages and emails that the secret service sort of disappeared and could be something far worse and subpoenas to members of congress, a number of members of congress got subpoenaed, they haven't been called before the justice department so we shall see. >> and the big question is will the justice department have a criminal referral. >> to refer or not to refer. that is the question.
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and, look, a criminal referral is important and big statement from congress that they think a crime was committed. to me it doesn't matter. the justice department is under no obligation to follow what congress said even if they recommend that crimes have been committed. it looks like they're going to probably in this report, i think they might lay out who committed crimes but at the end of the day it is on merrick garland's hands if he wants to charge these folks with crimes, he will. >> elliott williams, thank you. we appreciate it. thank you. well sources tell cnn that in today's public hearing, the january 6 committee will seek to emphasize that former donald trump remains a clear and present danger to democracy. here is press secretary sarah mathews on the threat she believes still poses. >> he had every opportunity to call off the mob and condemn the violence. we've seen from taped testimony from several of my colleagues that folks were pleading with him to do that. and he didn't ever pick up the
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phone once. an i think that the january 6 committee has laid that out. but furthermore than just january 6, he's continued to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him, with zero evidence of that. and i think that that does pose a threat to our democracy. >> joining me to discuss is doug hade, republican strategist and former rnc communications director and john avalon. senior political analyst and anchor. so doug, let me start with you. these aren't democrats that are saying that the former president is a threat to democracy, this is former republicans that worked in his administration. how impactful will that have. >> it has a big impact and a minor impact. one, it drives a lot of conversation in washington, d.c. it certainly gives permission to other folks in the administration were find with t donald trump calling the election but after he lost they thought it might be a problem. but it drives some of that conversation. but you get outside of
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washington, d.c., it is not a topic of conversation for republicans or democrats. politico had a study that showed that 2% of the political advertising in house races are focused on january 6. 2%. that is not much. and it means that what people are talking about are all of the other issues you're talking about in this hour and the previous hour, inflation and energy driving the wrong direction track on the country. >> john, pick up on that. clearly there are a lot of issues weighing on households today and it is not just this committee's hearings. this is putting together a compilation month's long investigation. that being said, why do you think this isn't having a big impact with americans. >> i disagree that it isn't having an impact. a direct reaction to the lies around the election results in january 6. and then i think put forward in
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a more forceful manner by this committee because we've seen republicans giving testimony that contradict the lies that the president keeps spouting. and i do think it will overwhelm considerations, but not necessarily but republicans want it not to be about the economy just as they don't want it to be about abortion. but that should transsent those considerations. if we don't have that, we have nothing. >> so doug, what happens then today if we hear evidence from this committee that shows a direct link from the former president to those insurrectionists and egging them on, having been warned of what was to come that day. >> yeah, again, i think the political impact and it is very hard to determine what political race this directly effects, the political impact may be minimal for now. it is certainly important for history and maybe for the future
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as well. if donald trump really wanted to run in 2024, what we see today, what we've seen in previous hearings certainly is going to have an impact politically, but also potentially legally. and that is the critical thing, is whether or not he'll be allowed to run for president again in the future. >> and yet there are other candidates, john, let's put donald trump aside, there are other candidates who he's endorsed who are also questioning the 2020 election who could very well win in the midterm. >> a majority of republican nominees right now back the election lies and that is a fundamental problem. just dealing with reality. but that is become a litmus test for winning republican primaries in most cases. there are honorable and important exceptions to that. but they're coming under pressure from right and from trump to date. so that is why the secretary of state races matter so much. but election deniers put in an oversee the election, that puts in constitutional chaos. and so as well as the 2024 election as doug just indicated.
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>> doug, does the mar-a-lago investigation impact this hearing at all for americans and for republican voters in general? considering that we continue to hear more and more damning revelations just today that he directed an employee to move boxes after a subpoena was served to preserve them. >> donald trump wasn't responsible with sensitive documents is not a big surprise. but the cake is baked as john said earlier on this. you've made up your mind on donald trump and probably did well before this. you liked him or didn't like him. you thought he was making america great or a taerrible direction for country. mar-a-lago is a part of that. but again moving forward, electorally, it is not going to have an impact on 2022. this is about 2024 and also learn from our own history. >> here is why doug, i disagree with you quickly. we're dealing with here is actually evidence, testimony from a trump employee that the former president directed him to
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disregard a federal subpoena. that is getting into federal crimes. >> yeah. >> that is a different deal. so this isn't just well everybody knows donald trump lies a lot. this is a different criteria. >> sure. but that is not going to change the senate or a house race. >> got a lose to news to cover this hour. we appreciate this heated conversation. a lot more to cover as well as always. thank you. >> thank you. and make sure to stay with cnn for special live coverage of today's hearing. coverage begins at noon. and still to come this morning, the dow starting down this morning on the news of a disappointing inflation report. as consumer prices increase for the month of september, the directors of the national economic council joins us next with how the white house is responding. and we're continuing to follow breaking news. this is a live look inside of broward county courtroom where the jury has reached a verdict in the trial of the gunman behind the parkland massacre.
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and we're continue to follow breaking news. this is a live look inside of a broward county courtroom where the jury has reached a verdict in the trial of the gunman behind the park land massacre. we'll bring you that verdict when we get it. but this morning disappointing new inflation numbers as the country looks to fight off rising prices. a new report shows consumer prices rose .4% last month and 8.2% year-over-year. the increase considerably higher than anticipated.
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markets are responding in a big way to the news. down hundreds of points. joining me now to discuss is brian deese, the director of the economic council. good to see you. so there is no way to sugar coat this report. prices rise down from 9.1% in june but still at an unacceptable level. what is the administration doing and what can the administration do aside from just telling americans to be patient at this point? >> well thanks for having me. inflation is a challenge, it is a global challenge and the first and most important point is the united states is in a better and stronger position to take this challenge head on than any other country in the world because of the policies that we've put in place and the strong and resilient economic recovery that we have here in the united states. as you mentioned, there was some progress in this report. headline inflation has come down. a lot of that is gas prices that are down more than a dollar a
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gallon since the summer. that is important for american families. but at the same time prices need to come down and faster. this has been the president's primary focus. and we have taken action on measures that will provide some real relief here in the near term. health care for example was one the prices that you saw in this report increases, because of the policies, health care premiums will come down for 13 million americans and we're allowing medicare to negotiate for better prescription drug costs and cap out of porkt costs for seniors at $2,000 and put in place bringing down energy bills in the coming months. so these are policies that will bring it down and -- >> but you look at stripping out food and energy, and brian just telling americans that things aren't as bad here as they are
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around the world really isn't a reassuring statement at this point. and i want to ask you about the president's comments earlier this week to jake tapper, still saying that he doesn't believe that the u.s. will experience a recession but if we do it will be a quote, mild one. what does that mean? what should americans be prepared for in the months ahead. >> well the most striking feature is the resilience of the american economy. we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in modern history. 700,000 manufacturing jobs created and businesses are investing all around this country in places, i'm in cleveland today and across ohio, and across the industrial midwest because they believe in the long-term potential of the economy. and americans, american families are the beneficiaries of that strong labor market recovery. at the same time, prices are too high. but the message the president is delivering is that you have a president in the administration that is waking up every day
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trying to address that problem head on and we are making progress. we are making progress on energy prices. we are making progress. we just have to -- we just have to stay at it. and so we have policies that are going to make a difference. we have policies that have already made a difference. we just have to stay the course. >> are we going to experience a railroad strike. the president took a victory lap averting one that could have been a fatal, massive blow to the u.s. economy. there appears to be renewed concerns there could be a strike. so what was resolved on the president's front. did he just kick the can down the road. >> this happens between labor and management as they negotiate and seek to resolve differences. because the president and his administration, secretary walsh intervened in that process, the process moves forward to a democratic process of taking that agreement to a vote to a number of different railway
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unions. that is a process that is underway now and as is always and often the case there are twists and turns in that process. there is time to resolve all of the outstanding issues before the end of the year. but we have this in a place where we have the potential to resolve this issue. a tentative agreement that become a permanent agreement. we are staying very closely engaged with both of the parties but we were able to avert an immediate and what would have been a catastrophic hit to the economy and we have to stay at this and encourage labor and management to stay at this and reach a resolution in the interest of the country. >> brian, quickly, could americans expect to see higher prices at pump with opec surprising decision to cut production by 2 million barrels a day. >> most americans are seeing prices down a dollar, $1.20 from where we there this summer and the prices that energy companies are praying are at historically low levels compared to what the
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retail prices are being paid. so if markets do what they should do, those retail prices should come down. they should come down over the course of the next couple of weeks and consumers should see that at the -- in terms of the retail price that they pay. sos that what we're communicating when we talk to energy, those prices should come down and we're hopeful they will over the next couple of weeks. >> prices up 13%. we'll be following up closely. thank you for your time. we appreciate it. well we have a verdict in the death penalty trial of the parkland shooter. in just minutes we're expected to be -- for it to be read. we'll bring it to you live. our dell technologies advisors can provide you with the tools and expertise you neneed to bring out the innovatator in you.
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charges. essentially what they had to do was decide whether or not cruz committed a aggravating factor, a reason that the state said that he should be put to death. they had about five of them for each of the 17 victims. the defense, they offered up dozens of what they called mitigating factors. reasons that they believe that cruz should be spared his life and instead should be sentenced to life in prison. we were expecting the deliberation process to play out for a few more days because each of the 17 counts had four pages of questions that the jurors need to answer. each of the questions was looking at aggravator and mitigating factors. it is possible that the jury could come back on an aggravating and a mitigating factor and then they have to
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decide whether those factors outweighs the other. and then they decide whether or not he would die for his actions in parkland, florida, back in 2018. it is important to note that in the state of florida, a jury's decision on death has to be unanimous. but they only have to be unanimous on one of these charges in order for cruz to die. if the jury were to hold out on all of them, then cruz would spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. we are expecting the verdict to be read in court. my understanding is that cruz is back in the courtroom on the 17th floor of the judiciary building behind me. the parkland families have been here. we've been covering this case since jury selection got underway five to six months ago and then the witness testimony got underway about three months ago. and all of these family members have been in that courtroom every single day for several hours. i mean, the witness testimony at times would go on for four to
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five hours an sometimes would you only hear from two people a day. the jury themselves, they visited the school, they got a look at a 14-minute piece of video showing cruz going floor by floor at the school shooting these 17 people. they got a look at all of the autopsy photos and now they are just waiting to come out, deliver their verdict and then we'll learn whether or not nikolas cruz will die. >> he was 19 at the time of the shooting and 24-year-old now. we see the family there as you said. they have been there throughout this trial and this is a big moment as we're expecting to hear from the jury. i want to bring in jean casarez who has been following this trial and legal analyst paul callahan. so jean, let me ask you, to get your response to the moment the jury asked to see the ar-15 that was used in that murder. how significant, if anything,
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was that? >> it is a short deliberation. and they asked for a couple of things. one being the ar-15. and i think it is fascinating that yesterday there was an issue because they didn't know if they went back to the jury room, the prosecutors said it has to. so they took the firing pin out and this morning when they got to that jury room, the gun was right there. so that is significant. but yesterday they asked for a read-back of dr. paul connor, money expert on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder who testified that nikolas cruz was the victim, you could say, of what his mother ingested while she was pregnant with him and it effected his brain and there was such an impact that it was in part responsible for what he did and why did he it. now of course they also got a read back of the cross-examination. but they did not want to read back of dr. paul deny, a psychologist that testified that
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cruz manipulated the numbers on his assessment test to make sure he looked as bad as it could to help him so that the jury would not render a verdict of death. they didn't want to hear that testimony. they just wanted the defense expert. and as we just heard, they have to be unanimous. and they obviously have a verdict in this short period of time. but to render a verdict of death, it has to be unanimous. it is a recommendation only. in florida, the judge decides what the ultimate decision is. she usually listens to the recommendation of the jury. but if they were not able to get unanimity, it is life in prison without the possibility of parole. now they go through each and every victory. all 17. and if solely on one victim they believe that beyond a reasonable doubt that he should be sentenced to death, then it is a death verdict. and the prosecutor already proved some aggravating factors.
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heinous, atrocious and cruel and the jury has to believe beyond a reasonable doubt one aggravating factor is in place for the verdict death. so the process is set up to be very, very foolproof. they have to believe that. and it wasn't too long ago that was changed to a unanimous verdict in florida. before that there were other rules in florida. but i've covered many death penalty cases in florida and this is the shortest deliberation i've ever seen. >> and so, paul what do you read in that, given that it was a short deliberation. they just began yesterday and as of this morning they already reached a verdict. >> i read it into that there are so many victims of this homicide, this is a mass shooting. it is one of the biggest mass shootings in american history. not the biggest. but certainly it is right up there. and think when you see that many human beings slaughtered in a crime like this, that the death
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penalty is going to be seriously considered by a jury. as jean explained, the statute is very, very complicated in terms of what the jury has to go through. there are eight aggravating factors that are listed as possibilities. and there are mitigating factors. i'm sorry there are 16 aggravating factors and eight mitigating factors and the jury has to look at each one of these to decide whether the aggravating ones outweigh the mitigating ones. i think here, bianna, when they ask to see the ar-15 in the jury room, i think they're looking at the crime being particularly heinous or cruel. and think they wanted to look at the weapon and to try to make a decision as to whether the killing somebody with a weapon like that ar-15 is an aggravating factor under the statute. so that probably was the most
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important aggravating factor that the jury looked at but we'll see that when we see the answers to the judge's questions. >> and carlos, and you talked about this earlier, the impact that the families sitting there days after day throughout this trial, that they brought to the courtroom and to potentially this verdict and decision by the jury. they have not only been outspoken and been demanding justice for their loved ones immediately after the massacre, but now all of these years later, throughout the actual trial itself. >> yeah, that is exactly right. one of the more eplmotional wee of the sentencing trial is when we heard from the family members. they all went on the stand and talked about their loss, their grief, and how they've many have not been able to move forward with their lives. it is important to note that the jury was told that they were not to take into account any of the
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victim's statements when deciding whether or not cruz would die because of what he did back in 2018. but to add to some of what has been said, some of the observations being made here, one of the things that the prosecution spent a great deal of time and effort through this entire process was trying to underscore, trying to highlight just how cruel cruz was the day of the shooting. during closing arguments, the prosecutor out here he went into great detail showing how for some of the victims, nikolas cruz walked up to them, shot them several times at point blank range, just to make sure that they were dead. the jury then also got a look at a 14-minute long piece of video showing the shooting and so at least in our understanding of what was going on, in the observations that we made in court, it seemed pretty clear that the prosecution was confident that they were going
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to be able to get some of the aggr aggravated factors on three to four of the students because they have spent so much time and effort walking the jury through how they died. oliver, he was hiding in a corner and surveillance video at the school captured cruz walking up to him and shooting him after he had already been shot. and so our understanding is the surveillance video showed oliver already wounded when cruz walked up to him and shoots him several times. peter wang, one of the other students killed here, she was shot more than a dozen times, including in the head. and that was something that the prosecution wanted jurors to remember as they went into this deliberation. and so it seemed that they were pretty confident that they would get some of the aggravating factors on some of the students if not all of the 17 victims. >> again, we're looking at families there in a packed courtroom of the loved one that
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the 14 students and three staff members back in 2018 and the jury has reached a verdict and stay with us. we're continuing to watch the process inside of that courtroom. in just minutes we're expecting to hear the jury recommendation to be shared in the trial of nikolas cruz. of course we'll bring it to you live. about exciting medicare advantage plans that can provide broad coverage and still may save y you money on monthly premiums and prescription drugs. withth original medicare you are covered for hospital stays and doctor office visits but you have to meet a deductible for each, and then you're still responsible for 20% of the cost. next, let's look at a medicare supplement plan. as you can see, they cover the same things as original medicare, and they also cover your medicare deductibles and coinsurance. but they often have higher monthly premiums
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deliberated for 24 hours if that. >> that is right. and one of aspects of deliberation is to go through all of the evidence because you're looking to see if the aggravating and mitigating factors are there. this is a balancing act for the jury. they're looking at the aggravating factors which is everything carlos told us about the scene there in miami and also gating factors. why he should not get the death penalty and what the defense brought out to the jury lifetimes of struggles in school and at home, a born to a woman who abused drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant and incorrect medical diagnosis that his brain was not formed at 19 years old when this shooting took place, struggled with medication and mental disorders so the jury has to balance this out for a young man that they have looked the every day since april. jury selection time. >> and there you see the family
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members there waiting for the verdict and cruz there k conferring with his counsel. for the jury to sentence cruz to death it has to be a unanimous decision. >> yes, it does. and if there is a single juror among the 12 who has some kind of doubts about this, or conscientious objections to the death penalty and the juries are asked during voir dire as to whether they are capable of imposing the death penalty if the evidence warrants it. but in my experience, i've seen cases where jurors, despite the voir dire, the careful questioning, some people have hesitation about the death penalty that has nothing to do with the particular defendant. if there is something like that on the jury who votes no, then life without parole will be the sentence that must be imposed by the court. >> and jean, this decision is just a recommendation for the judge.
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the judge will ultimately decide. >> but the judge normally goes with what the jury recommendation. it is one case where the judge deafy ates because they take that very seriously. when we look at this. and remember there are 17 that they will go through that were killed. and even if in just one of them they decide beyond a reasonable doubt death is warranted, it is a death sentence. and so we have to listen to all of them. but it is pages and pages of this verdict form. it is going to take a long time because they have to go through so much and aggravating factors. but that is what a death penalty case is. it is tedious and there is a right afteof appeal. >> what do you make the argument about nikolas cruz's background and up bringing, his mental
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capabilities, and mental acuity at that? >> well i think they did a very good job in making a presentation on his behalf given the atrocity of the crime that he committed. there is among what they call the mitigating circumstances of the eight that are listed. one in particular said if there is anything in the defendant's background that would mitigate the jury could take that into consideration. and that is sort of a very general kind of wording that allows anything, really, about the defendant's background that would cause mitigation. and here the defense attorneys put together a presentation which indicated that he may have been brain damaged, he may have been effected by drugs that his mother took, he may have had even a brain at age 19 that wasn't fully formed. all of these things relating to his background and his
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upbringing, that a juror looking not to impose the death penalty could rely on as a mitigating circumstance. and you have to remember, and jean raised a very good point, there is a very, very complex verdict form here. and you have to find aggravating factors in order to impose the death penalty and you have to look at each of the 17 victims and as jean said if only one has those aggravating circumstances, you have to consider the death penalty. but if his background suggests that he deserves a life sentence instead, that one thing cancels out the aggravation or can cancel it out with respect to the aggravating circumstances. jury in other words has wide latitude in saying whether a mitigating circumstance, you know, overwhelms and is much greater than the aggravating circumstances. it is really entirely up to them to make that decision.
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and of course if they do decide to recommend death, the judge then ultimately must decide and as jean said, usually judges do impose the death penalty in that situation. >> carlos suarez, any indication as to how the families feel about whether cruz should be sentenced to death or life in prison? is that something that has come up? is there a unanimous view on this point given that we have so many families involved in this atrocity? >> reporter: many of the family members that have been in court this entire trial have been very clear about what they would like to see. they would like to see cruz put to death. there are -- there was one family member whose name escapes me right now, one of the siblings who said that they were against the death penalty but that -- they haven't been in court throughout this entire process. all of the family members that have been here, the jury, the judge i believe is coming back in. >> we're going to go to the
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courtroom right now as the judge is walked in. we're anticipating the jury as well. let's take a moment to listen in. >> okay, court is back in session. the police oflawyers are presen. it is my understanding that the jurors have reached a verdict in this case. are both sides ready to bring in the juries? >> defense is ready. >> we are ready, your honor. >> okay.
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>> and jean as we are waiting for the jury to come in and announce their decision. we were just explaining to me there is a long process here and paperwork that they're going to read through but it just takes one count. >> right. and they're going to start with count one obviously and go through and they're going to read this jury form that we hear talking about -- did you find aggra aggravatingors and going through the various factors. on page four of count one it gets to the point, are you recommending death. yes or no. so that is what we ever to listen for right there.
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because that first count, that possibly will show their state of mind. >> let's listen to the jury. >> all jurors are present. the juries are present. everyone else may be seated. ladies and gentlemen, it is my understanding that you have reached a verdict in this case. mr. thomas, you're the foreperson? >> yes, ma'am. >> would you please pass the verdict forms to the bailiff .
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>> all of the verdict forms have been properly executed. and dated and signed by the foreperson. at this time, i'm going to publish the verdicts. the state of florida versus nikolas cruz, veteran form as to count one, we the jury find as follows as to nikolas cruz in this case. aggravating factors as to count one, victim luke hoyer. we the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor nikolas cruz was previously convicted of another capital fell or felony involving
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the use or threat of violence to another person. yes. we the jury un animously find beyond a reasonable doubt, that nicklaus cruise created a death to many persons. yes. we the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, the first degree murd of luke hoyer was committed wild nikolas cruz was engaged in the commission of a burglary. yes. we the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, the first-degree murder was heinous atrocious or cruel, yes. we find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating faktor, the first murder of luke hoyer was committed in a cold and
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calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification. yes. reviewing the aggravating factors that we unanimously found to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, we the jury unanimously find that the aggravating fakers are sufficient to warrant a possible death sentence. yes. one or month individual jurors find that one or more mitigating circumstances was established by the greater weight of the evidence, yes. we the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt out weigh the mitigating circumstances, no. signed october 13th, by the foreperson. mr. benjamin. verdict form as to count two. victim martin duke.
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we the jury find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor that nikolas cruz was convicted of another capital felony or felony involving the use or threat of violence to another person. yes. we the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, nikolas cruz knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons. yes. we the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor the first-degree murder of martin duke was committed while nikolas cruz was engaged in the commission of a burglary. yes. we the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, the first-degree murder
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of martin duke was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. yes. we the jury, unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor, the first-degree murder of martin duke was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner. without any pretense of moral, or legal justification. yes. reviewing the aggravating factors that we unanimously found to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, we the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors are sufficient to warrant a possible sentence of death. yes. one or more individual jurors find that one or more mitigating circumstances was established by the greater weight of the
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evidence. yes. we the jury unanimously find that the aggravating factors that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh the mitigating circumstances established as to count two, martin duke, no. signed and dated by the foreperson, mr. benjamin thomas. counts three, gina mont. we the jury unanimously find that the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of aggravating factor nikolas cruz was previously convicted of another felony, capital felony or of a felony involving the use of threat of violence to another person. yes. we the jury unanimously find that state has established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the aggravating factor nikolas c