The 19-year-old accused of killing 17 people at his former high school in February wants to donate his six-figure inheritance to the families of the victims, an attorney for Nikolas Cruz told a judge on Wednesday.
The Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that defense attorney Melisa McNeill told a judge that Cruz wishes to donate his $800,000 inheritance to an organization of the families’ choice.
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“He would like that money donated to an organization that the victims’ families believe could facilitate healing in our community,” McNeill said. Cruz attended the Wednesday hearing but did not speak, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
It’s unclear if the families of the victims would agree to such a request.
Cruz was in court this week to determine whether he is eligible to use a public defender or is required instead to seek costly outside counsel, which his attorneys argue he cannot afford.
McNeill said Cruz does not currently have access to any of his expected inheritance funds or other income, and that he currently has less than $400 in a bank account.
If convicted, Cruz faces the death penalty in Florida. Defense attorneys said Cruz is willing to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison, but Florida state prosecutors have not agreed to the deal.
“The state of Florida is not allowing Mr. Cruz to choose his own punishment for the murder of 17 people,” prosecutor Shari Tate with the Broward State Attorney’s Office told the Sun-Sentinel.
Survivors of the February attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School responded to the attack with the national “March for Our Lives,” an ongoing campaign against gun violence that last month drew hundreds of thousands to the nation’s capital to protest in support of tougher gun restrictions.