A Debate of Morality: The Devastating School Shooting in Parkland, Florida
“To try to articulate what has happened to me would be for me to rip my heart out and present it to you, shattered in a million pieces,” lamented Shara Kaplan, whose daughter, Meadow Pollack, died as a result of fatal bullet wounds in a hallway of Stoneman High School.
Pollack was described as cheerful, charming, and determined to live her life to the fullest. Her loved ones can only hope that she was content with her impact on the people who, on that day, lost a daughter, a student, and a friend.
The eighteen-year-old was just one of numerous lost as a result of a school shooting in 2018.
On February 14, 2018, high school student Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, armed with a backpack and a rifle case. Though reports from staff had been received about his suspicious behavior, no action was taken until after the shooting had already begun. In a total of two hallways, six classrooms, three floors, and a duration of merely six minutes, the lives of fourteen students and three faculty were lost—with seventeen others suffering near fatal injuries from the attack.
During the attack, many faculty and students, in acts of kindness and bravery, sacrificed their lives to protect others during the onslaught. They barricaded doors, shielded classmates, and helped others before themselves.
Despite Cruz’s attempt to blend in with fleeing students while making his escape from the scene, he was placed into police custody a little over 40 minutes later after witness reports identified him as the main perpetrator. As witnesses of such a crisis, many of those still living to tell the story are greatly affected by PTSD and survivor’s guilt, with two students committing suicide not long after.
Cruz pleaded guilty to the total of 34 charges placed against him: seventeen for first-degree murder and another seventeen for attempted murder. The prosecution called for the recommendation of the death penalty for his crimes due to its recognition as the single dealiest mass shooting to ever go to trial in the United States, arguing that his tactics were “cold, calculative, manipulative, and deadly.”
Because of his confession, the defense had no choice but to argue for a lighter sentence, contending that his mental development had been hindered due to his mother’s use of harmful substances during pregnancy. In addition, his psychiatric examination identified that he may have suffered from depression, ADHD, and autism, as well as other behavioral and psychological issues. Key witnesses also suggested that Cruz’s childhood had been abnormally difficult, as he lost both his biological parents and his adoptive father just before he turned seven. With the death of their mother, Cruz and his brother were left without any parental figures or guidance.
Throughout the course of the trial, graphic video evidence of the scene, agitated testimonies from family members, and tours of the aftermath were shared in hopes of leaving jury members no doubt of Cruz’s wrongdoings. In the end, a singular jury vote against the enactment for the death penalty protected Cruz’s right to life.
Capital punishment—or the death penalty—was legalized by the Supreme Court in 1976. It has seen a sharp decline as states withdraw it from the selection of criminal sentences, questioning its effectiveness, practicality, and, most troubling of all, morality. Florida’s death penalty, though its usage is harshly restricted, has yet to be permanently outlawed, especially with Florida having the fourth most executions per year In the United States. Even so, only when a unanimous jury recommendations occur does the death sentence become an option for the trial judge, and courts generally will dissuade the enforcement of the death penalty in incidents where the perpetrator is mentally ill, as was in Cruz’s case.
As the result of yet another event of firearm misuse, the population has once again risen up and protested against the open availability of guns in the country. Survivors of the onslaught and others have started the action fund March for Our Lives, which advocates to end gun violence and the stricter enforcement of gun control laws across the country.
Along with the firearm issue, a majority of the survivors fight for better mental health systems to be implemented throughout the United States. Prior to the shooting, Cruz had indicated his general intentions through disturbing social media posts about buying firearms and committing acts of violence. This event is a prime example of the severe mental issues that go ignored among those who have the power to prevent these types of situations, which have devastating consequences.
Though Cruz’s mental issues were a key deciding factor in his eventual sentence, some believe that the fact should not have affected the punishment he was given. After the mass shooter’s trial, many have raised questions as to what situation the penalty should be used for—if not the shooting that single-handedly left seventeen dead, seventeen permanently scarred, and countless in immeasurable sorrow.
BY CHLOE WANG