FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Jury selection in the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz hit a new stumbling block when a potential juror wore a T-shirt potentially prejudicial to his case. The woman wore a burgundy and silver T-shirt on Monday saying Teachers Strong and two hashtags referring to Cruz's 2018 murder of 17 at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. Those are the school's colors and such T-shirts were ubiquitous in South Florida long after the shooting. The judge dismissed not only the woman, but nine other potential jurors who were in her group. Cruz pleaded guilty to the murders. The jury will decide whether he gets a sentence of death or life in prison.
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Amy Beth Bennett/AP
Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown in court at the defense table with his defense attorneys, Gabe Ermine, left, and David Wheeler at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, before pleading guilty on all four criminal counts stemming from his attack on a Broward County jail guard in November 2018. Cruz is accused of punching Sgt. Ray Beltran, wrestling him to the ground and taking his stun gun. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
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