Miami, May 10 (EFE).- Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who presided over the sentencing phase of the judicial process for the killing of 17 people at the Parkland High School, in South Florida (USA), resigned from her position, local media report this Wednesday.
Scherer, 46, a circuit judge in Florida since 2012, sent the state governor, Ron DeSantis, his resignation letter effective June 30 and in which he did not give an account of the reasons for his retirement.
Last April, the Supreme Court of Florida removed Scherer from a case against Randy Tundidor that implied the death penalty, arguing that the magistrate had not shown neutrality in the process against the young Nikolas Cruz, author of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Cruz will serve life in prison for killing 17 people with a semi-automatic rifle at the aforementioned school in 2018, after the jury was not unanimous in recommending the death penalty.
The Supreme Court magistrates indicated, in a unanimous decision, that immediately after sentencing Cruz, Judge Scherer “left the bench and, still wearing her judicial gown, exchanged hugs with the families of the victims and members of the Prosecutor’s team.
The highest judicial instance of Florida also alluded in its brief to the strong exchanges and discussions that the judge had with Cruz’s public defenders during the process.
Shortly after the sentencing of Cruz, who in October 2021 pleaded guilty to all charges she faced, the Broward County Public Defender’s office filed 130 motions seeking the removal of the judge from ongoing court cases. .
Last February, five years after the bloody event, US President Joe Biden announced a $231 million fund for states interested in implementing programs aimed at restricting access to firearms. and offer mental health treatment.
