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Judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced Nikolas Cruz to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday after a Florida jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty in his penalty phase trial last month.
Cruz, now 24, pleaded guilty last October to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Parkland, Florida, shooting that killed 14 students and three school employees and wounded 17 others.
On Wednesday, after impassioned statements from victims and family members, the judge read the counts for each murder and attempted murder, 34 in all. Cruz was sentenced to life in prison for each count.
“I’m ordering each count to run consecutively … it runs one after the other,” Scherer said.
Scherer imposed the sentence based on the jury’s recommendation. She was not allowed to deviate from the jury’s guidance.
CNN previously reported that Cruz will be transferred to the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections and taken to one of several reception centers in the state.
Florida criminal defense attorney Janet Johnson told CNN that Cruz will undergo several weeks of physical and psychological testing.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections website, “the selected facility is determined by reviewing the seriousness of (the inmate’s) crimes, length of sentence, time remaining to be served, prior criminal record, escape history, prison setting and other factors.
The Florida Department of Corrections did not respond to CNN’s request for more specific information about Cruz.
At the end of the hearing, the judge remanded Cruz to the Department of Corrections. They said they have 30 days to appeal the sentence. Crews was then escorted out of the courtroom by members of the Broward County Sheriff’s Department.
CNN’s Christina McSourris contributed to this report
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