A Parkland parent blamed President Joe Biden for continued gun violence after a jury recommended mass shooter, Nikolas Cruz, should receive a life sentence, not the death penalty.
Anne Ramsay, the mother of victim Helena Ramsay, spoke during a live press conference along with the other families of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on Feb. 14, 2018.
All of the families, including Ramsay, said they were disgusted, disappointed, and devastated by the verdict. The jury found that aggravating factors of the crimes did not outweigh the mitigating circumstances, such as Cruz’s upbringing and mental health, and therefore did not warrant the death penalty.
JURY RECOMMENDS LIFE SENTENCE, NOT DEATH PENALTY, FOR PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTER
Ramsay said: “17 people died. 14 beautiful children, [and] three adults dedicating their lives to educating children. And today, we find out that there’s no justice for us.”
She questioned how Cruz obtained a gun if he suffered from mental illness as his defense team argued during the trial.
“He still managed to get an AR-15 to mow down our kids,” she said. “Why was he allowed to get an AR-15?”
She specifically called out the president for perceived inaction regarding the prevention of school shootings.
“President Biden, it’s been four years, and I’ve listened to countless shootings, one after another, traumatizing my family, traumatizing our neighborhood,” she said. “And today, the wrong verdict was given.”
There have been several other school shootings since Parkland, including the devastation in Uvalde, Texas when a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in May, claiming the lives of 21 people, 19 of them children.
The massacre in Uvalde set in motion a gun control and safety bill called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which made changes to school safety measures, gun safety laws, and mental health programs.
However, Ramsay said the verdict could encourage more shootings, as it sent out the message that it is fine to get an AR-15 and commit a school shooting because the shooter will just get life in prison by “pleading that [they] are insane.”
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“It’s been years and years and years, listening to the news, hearing nothing but shootings in this country, and today we let someone off that murdered 17 people in cold blood,” she said.
“What kind of people are we?”
