Lawyer: Parkland suspect shouldn’t be called ‘the killer’

By TERRY SPENCER
Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for the former student accused of murdering 17 at a Florida high school want prosecutors and their witnesses barred at trial from referring to him as “an animal,” “a thing,” or “the killer.” Nikolas Cruz’s lead attorney also argued Wednesday that prosecutors and their witnesses should be barred at trial from calling the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland as “the massacre,” “the schoolhouse slaughter,” “an execution” or other “inflammatory” terms. Prosecutors said the judge should not bar any terms before the trial. They said if a prosecutor or witness uses a term that Cruz’s attorneys believe is prejudicial, they can object then. Judge Elizabeth Scherer said she will rule by Friday.