Jury Selection Is Set To Begin The Trial Of The Former Deputy Charged With Failing To Confront Parkland Shooter

On Wednesday, the Jury selection is scheduled to begin the trial of a former Florida sheriff’s deputy charged with failing to confront a shooter who murdered 14 students and three employees of Parkland high school five years ago.

Jury Selection Is Set To Begin The Trial Of The Former Deputy Charged With Failing To Confront Parkland Shooter (PHOTO: NBC 6)

Trial Of Former Deputy Accused Of Failing To Confront Parkland Shooter Is Set To Begin

60 years old, former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson’s attorney together with prosecutors and Circuit Judge Martin Fein are anticipated to spend several days sorting through hundreds of potential jurors to find 50 who are willing to serve without prejudice and for the two months the trial is expected to assume.

Those 50, attorneys will try next week to settle on a panel of six and four alternates to hear the case. Among the six states that allow six-member juries for trials, Florida is part of it other than capital murder, together with Arizona, Indiana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Utah. All other states use 12-member juries in felony trials.

Peterson remained outside a three-story classroom building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during Nikolas Cruz’s six-minute attack on February 14, 2018.

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The Former Deputy Is facing multiple Charges

AP News reported that Scot Peterson was charged with seven counts of felony child neglect concerning the death of four students and three wounded on the 1200 building’s third floor.

Peterson arrived at the building with his gun drawn 73 seconds before Cruz reached that floor, but instead of entering, he turn his back away as gunfire sounded.

Peterson stated that he thought the shots were coming from outside the building, perhaps from a sniper. His attorney also claims that Peterson had no legal obligation to enter the building and confront Cruz under Florida law.

Scot Peterson is also charged with three counts of misdemeanor culpable failure for the adults shot on the third floor, including a teacher and an adult student who was murdered. In addition to Scot Peterson’s criminal records, he was also charged with perjury for allegedly lying to investigators, due to that he could get about a century in prison if sentenced on the child neglect counts and forfeits his $104,000 annual pension.

Peterson was not charged by the Prosecutors in connection with the death of the 11 victims and 13 wounded on the first floor before he arrived at the building. No one was shot on the second floor. Shortly after the shooting incident, Peterson retired and was then fired retroactively.

In 2021, the suspect Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to the mass shooting that killed and injured several victims. In a penalty trial last year, his jury couldn’t unanimously agree on whether he deserved the death penalty and the 24-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student was then sentenced to life imprisonment.

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