One of the three jurors in the
Parkland school massacre case who was against the death penalty for Nikolas Cruz told CNN Friday she did not make her decision until the "very last minute."
Ultimately, she was persuaded to vote for life without parole because she "felt that the system failed" Cruz repeatedly throughout his life, from the schools he attended to mental health professionals who evaluated him.
"I saw several pieces of evidence where several (experts had) recommended (Cruz) be in a residential facility. That never happened," said Melody Vanoy, who was a juror in the case.
Vanoy described a hostile environment which arose among the jurors with whom she said had bonded during the months long trial at the end of deliberations and after their paperwork was filled out.
"There were negative sarcastic remarks," Vanoy said. "I heard comments like, 'we're going to let the families down.'"
"I felt disrespected, despite the relationships that we had built," she added. "The energy was so heated that we wanted to get out of that room. They had to take us down for over 30 minutes to just give us fresh air so we can move around and separate. That's how heated it got."
"It got ugly," Vanoy said.
Vanoy also told CNN there were one woman on the jury panel who was "not moving" from her stance against the death penalty. "So whether we took 10 hours or five days (of deliberating), she didn't feel she was going to be moved either way."