Parkland Shooter Sentenced Today

[Jersey Girl]

Kid ain't going nowhere for the rest of his life until inmates bash him to death in which case he'll head to the morgue.

Video is 20:45 if you are interested.

Parkland shooting sentencing: Nikolas Cruz officially sentenced to life in prison | LiveNOW from FOX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0OjFTOw0-M

Going back in time...here's a vid of him covering his ears refusing to listen to audio of himself during the shooting. 11:20 something run time. Slide forward to skip the female student testimony.

Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz refuses to listen to audio of him murdering students | LiveNOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXePrX6vhs8

Here's one of the victim's Dad who is an attorney himself making his final statement to the shooter and the court, including attorneys from BOTH sides. I invite you to do him the courtesy of listening to his statement since none of the victim's families have ever been able to speak openly until today. He doesn't mince words. At all. Just over 18 minutes.

Parkland Victim's Father Michael Schulman Gives Final Statement Before Shooter's Sentencing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4-k7Q3BKU

Finally, I decided to review the autopsy report testimony one more time. I realize that I might be the only one around here who listens to this stuff but here it is if you are interested. 41:40 minutes run time.

Parents of Parkland Shooting Victim Cry While Hearing Autopsy Findings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN_Nov2STv4

[doubtingthomas]

Kid ain't going nowhere for the rest of his life until inmates bash him to death in which case he'll head to the morgue.

Life in prison is just a superior punishment.

[Chap]

Kid ain't going nowhere for the rest of his life until inmates bash him to death in which case he'll head to the morgue.

That is factually true. But no citizen should talk with any relish (I'm not saying you are, but people do) about the prospect of prisons being so badly run that inmates are able to kill one another. "We" as a society of advanced nations, are supposed to be better than that, are we not?

And from the practical point of view, brutal and dangerous prisons will end up producing brutal and dangerous ex-prisoners at the end of their sentences. It is a fact that, in general, the more civilised and rehabilitation-focussed the prison system of a country is, the lower the rate of repeat criminality is found to be.

[Kishkumen]

Well said, Chap.

[Jersey Girl]

Kid ain't going nowhere for the rest of his life until inmates bash him to death in which case he'll head to the morgue.

That is factually true. But no citizen should talk with any relish (I'm not saying you are, but people do) about the prospect of prisons being so badly run that inmates are able to kill one another. "We" as a society of advanced nations, are supposed to be better than that, are we not?

And from the practical point of view, brutal and dangerous prisons will end up producing brutal and dangerous ex-prisoners at the end of their sentences. It is a fact that, in general, the more civilised and rehabilitation-focussed the prison system of a country is, the lower the rate of repeat criminality is found to be.

Agree. And you're right, I wasn't relishing in his impending demise.

I'm doing some armchair research on the shooter as I have time. My conclusion thus far is that this kid didn't stand a chance and was destined to fail.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

That is factually true. But no citizen should talk with any relish (I'm not saying you are, but people do) about the prospect of prisons being so badly run that inmates are able to kill one another. "We" as a society of advanced nations, are supposed to be better than that, are we not?

And from the practical point of view, brutal and dangerous prisons will end up producing brutal and dangerous ex-prisoners at the end of their sentences. It is a fact that, in general, the more civilised and rehabilitation-focussed the prison system of a country is, the lower the rate of repeat criminality is found to be.

Agree. And you're right, I wasn't relishing in his impending demise.

I'm doing some armchair research on the shooter as I have time. My conclusion thus far is that this kid didn't stand a chance and was destined to fail.

Would you mind sharing your analysis? I don’t know much about him and wouldn’t take the time to google him because he’s someone I’d throttle to death if given the chance, BUT, if you put in the work I’d like to read your perspective on the matter.

- Doc

[Gunnar]

Kid ain't going nowhere for the rest of his life until inmates bash him to death in which case he'll head to the morgue.

That is factually true. But no citizen should talk with any relish (I'm not saying you are, but people do) about the prospect of prisons being so badly run that inmates are able to kill one another. "We" as a society of advanced nations, are supposed to be better than that, are we not?

And from the practical point of view, brutal and dangerous prisons will end up producing brutal and dangerous ex-prisoners at the end of their sentences. It is a fact that, in general, the more civilised and rehabilitation-focussed the prison system of a country is, the lower the rate of repeat criminality is found to be.

Yes, the best example of this that I know of is Norway's approach to criminal justice reform and incarceration. This has already been discussed several times in this forum. I would love to hear what our resident MAGA conservatives think about that. They have, so far, had nothing to say about it that I have seen. It sometimes seems that their only approach to criminal justice is just to lock the miscreants up and throw away the key and maximize their misery. This costs many times more in the long run than effective programs to educate and rehabilitate them both in dollars and cents wise and in higher recidivism rates, as Norway has unequivocally shown to be true.

[Jersey Girl]

Agree. And you're right, I wasn't relishing in his impending demise.

I'm doing some armchair research on the shooter as I have time. My conclusion thus far is that this kid didn't stand a chance and was destined to fail.

Would you mind sharing your analysis? I don’t know much about him and wouldn’t take the time to google him because he’s someone I’d throttle to death if given the chance, BUT, if you put in the work I’d like to read your perspective on the matter.

- Doc

YES I will. I have to finish watching two court testimonies before I can comment. I'm half way through one and hopped around in the other a bit. I'm serious about what I said. I stand by it. When I started going through the one testimony steady last night, I knew I needed to step out and comment like I did here.

I need to finish both testimonies and I'm backed up on that other thread here as well so bear with me. And I've got an actual life, too. I do!

[Jersey Girl]

I'm just going to do a post here about the first testimony. This came up in my feed so of course I jumped on it in favor of watching the other that I still have outstanding in my watch later on Nikolas Cruz. I just finished watching this one and I want to get this post up before I continue on with the additional testimonies. The other testimony was his middle school teacher. I'll search around and see if there are elementary school educator testimonies to fill in the gap there. Here I go...fresh out of the video.

Parkland trial: Nikolas Cruz preschool teacher describes early aggression | LiveNOW from FOX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xc7IKrNcR4&t=1113s

Remember as you read this, that as a adult you are the child that you once were. Having the opportunity to be present and involved in the early life of developing humans is one reason that I pursued the field of work that I did. It's not all fun and games. It's important work as you'll see and why I said earlier, that this kid didn't stand a chance. I'll wrap up with that near the end here.

First, the woman giving testimony was NOT Nikolas' preschool teacher. She was his preschool director. Not meaning to criticize the director but I would have liked to see her articulate the testimony in a more elevated professional way, but tell the story she does and she's effective enough. A good director will know the children in the program as well as classroom teachers. S/he hears feedback from teachers, TA's, and observes each child his/herself. Ideally, the director, teacher and TA's form a team to the benefit and support of the child. That's how it should work and it did work in this case. But watch what happened and where the first ball dropped on Nikolas.

Anne is the preschool director and Linda is his mother. I'll use those names throughout this post. All of this is based on Anne's testimony. If you see ( ... ) that's me commenting.

Nikolas was enrolled at Young Minds from age 1 year to 3 years so far as I can hear in the testimony. He was well cared for at home, had a loving home life, lived in a nice home, had no economic challenges and his parents did the best they could for him.

Development at 1 year: And here I think Anne is mixing up developmental stages but she still describes what we're looking for.

1. He was developmentally delayed in self help, language, gross and fine motor skills.

2. She observed him express happiness a few times but typically he had no affect and no expression on his face. (Possible red flag.)

3. He isolated himself socially and engaged in onlooker play. (This is developmentally appropriate for children up through young 3's but typically ends around age 2 - 3 years and that corresponds with both language and social skills development that allow the child to enter a group of children at play. "Can I play?" "Wanna play?").

4. He lacked language skills and communicated through his behavior. If he wanted an object, he hit the child who had possession of it and took the object. When a teacher tried to support him in using a spoon to self feed, he hit her hand away. He had tantrums wherein he would lay on the ground, kick and hit. (She doesn't clearly state what age he was at the time. I wouldn't expect, for example, a 1 year old to self feed with a spoon without support from an adult nor would I expect a 1 year old to be able to articulate that they wanted an object.)

5. Biting: He engaged in biting other students 5 times during his time at Young Minds. (This, like the other physical behaviors, is tied to language delays. Anne doesn't say if biting continued to age 3 years though she does describe him as a 'late' biter so let's consider that a red flag along with language/verbal skills delays. )

6. Transitions: Nikolas had difficulty with transitions. Examples: Transition from clean up to snack, snack to outdoor play, outdoor play to returning indoors. (She doesn't say if this continued through age 3.)

7. Attorney asks Anne, "Was he a bully?" Anne replies, "No. He didn't have social skills." He tried to engage in group play but often would be found positioning himself outside of the group. He would sit against the wall, alone, rubbing his wrists (self soothing) and sometimes rocking back and forth (self soothing.) (Because this apparently continued through age 3, consider this a red flag. )

8. Eye contact: He rarely made eye contact. (Red flag).

9. Fine motor: He had difficulty grasping with fingers. (Use your hand and imagine you are turning a knob vs. how you use your fingers to manipulate an object such as picking up a pen then getting ready to write. Nikolas had difficulty with the latter. She used the example of squeezing a spring loaded clothespin.) (Red flag)

10. Gross Motor: Nikolas could't run without falling. His legs where always bruised because he would crawl up large motor equipment instead of climb. (Red flag.)

3 yo development:

11. Could not speak in full sentences. He continued to use physical ways of communicating what he wanted to teachers, example, he did start pointing to objects. But he never spoke in sentences or used words. (Red flag.)

12. Sensory processing: He would accept play dough. (tactile). He exhibited food aversions. (oral). (Possible red flag.)

13. Self help: Mom supported his self feeding by providing finger foods. (Not unusual for parents to do at home to make self feeding possible however, it is contrary to the support of the development of self help skills. But keep in mind his fine motor delays. He couldn't grasp and hold a spoon at age 3.) (Red flag.)

14. Group activity: Parachute play. (These are huge silky/nylon colorful parachutes used for gross and fine motor experiences. Example: Children sit around the parachute in a circle, grasp the edges, stand up and raise the parachute, it fills with air and sometimes children run under it. Got it?) Anne reports that Nikolas was overwhelmed by the experience. He would leave the group, put himself sitting against the wall as he did earlier, and self soothe. (Not going to count that as a red flag, possible red flag.)

15. Body: Anne says that Nikolas' body proportions didn't seem 'normal'. The size of his head v. his body, his ears v. his head. (RED FLAG.)

Early intervention piece:

1. Anne speaks with Linda at least 3 times re: referral and intervention. Linda is not receptive at first. (In my experience, this is not unusual.) Anne has the talk with Linda that all of us have. That early intervention is key to overcoming delays, the earlier the better.

2. Linda shares with Anne that Nikolas was adopted. (Notice that Anne is hearing this information for the first time in 3 years. It's not our business to know, but it in this case, it would've been helpful as you'll soon see. And when you DO see, you can take a moment to hit something. I recommend hitting the table your computer is on like I did.)

3. Enter Child Find. This is a national referral service for young children three years and up. The best thing we do in ECE is referral for early intervention. It is one of the main reasons we exist. Child Find requires an assessment from home and school. Then continues with other professional resources including observations at home and school. I can't speak on the home visit however, during the school visit they are observing the child, teacher, and the environment to ensure that neither the teacher nor the environment are responsible for the reported issues. Essentially, the left hand never sees what the right hand reported. In this way, the assessments remain free of bias. Finally, Child Find connects the family and the child with specialists pending the outcome of the final report. In the case of Nikolas Cruz, I would have liked to have seen intervention earlier than Child Find however, some of his developmental skills were in the range of typical development. I'm assuming that is why Anne didn't attempt referral earlier, however, I have to say that lack of eye contact was the very first hint that Nikolas' development was atypical. Anne's assessment when showed to the court seemed consistent with her testimony.

4. Child Find Results: Nikolas was referred for speech therapy. (Don't hit the table yet. That's not the entire problem.)

5. Once the process was finished, Nik referred for speech therapy, and after three years of observation, discussion, and support to parent and child, Linda delivers the final piece that she should/could have shared with Anne when she disclosed that Nik was adopted or best case scenario, upon enrollment.

The birth mother of Nikolas Cruz was a drug addict.

(Hit the table.)

If we go back to the beginning of Nikolas' story and if we are to point a finger. We'll have to point it in the direction of his birth mother who abused substances throughout her pregnancy.

Conclusion: Every item I labeled as a red flag demonstrates not only developmental delays, but pervasive delays across all domains. The lack of eye contact, the severe language/verbal delays, the little body that seemed out of proportion, falling over while running that continued (so far as we know) through age 3 (though some 3's are wobbly, they soon manage the coordination), the inconsistent fine motor development, sensory processing issues. ALL of that would lead one (I'm sure Anne considered it) to consider abnormalities that developed in utero.

Did Nik's pediatrician know about his birth mother?
Did Linda include information about Nik's birth mother in her assessment to Child Find?
Did the professionals who evaluated Nik uncover this piece?

What happened as Nikolas continued to develop? At this point, I don't know. I do know that his middle school teacher testified to aggressive behavior. My guess is that repeated balls were dropped on him. I do know that he's left a bloody trail of death in his wake and that he's locked up for life. I tend to think there could have been a better outcome and society is left with grief, horror, shock and outrage. Nikolas as he appeared in court, had been likely diagnosed. I do know that he was medicated and clear eyed. He answered the judges questions easily.

But what might it have been like if this little boy had been better served from the start? We'll never know the answer to that question.



Notice that in the photo, he isn't holding the utensil and it doesn't look like he's touched any of his food compared to the other children who are at least half way through their meal. He's likely not holding the utensil due to grasping issues and if those are mashed potatoes, it may be one of the foods that he couldn't tolerate feeling inside his mouth...sticky.


PSA: People please, if your child has a unique background, please tell your pediatrician from the first visit and please share with your early education professionals and let us help you get the help you need for your child.

[Jersey Girl]

I found another video to review that fits nicely with the preschool and middle school testimonies. I'll get to that hopefully tomorrow or the next day. I have to take this in pieces.