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Nikolas Cruz attorneys ask prosecutors to respect his privacy

School Shooting Florida
Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz holds his head in court during day two of jury selection in his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, on four criminal counts stemming from his alleged attack on a Broward 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)

Defense attorneys for Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, are asking for prosecutors to not invade his privacy during the trial.

The request comes in reference to prosecutors using information on his Instagram account in the case.

Prosecutor Nicole Chiappone argued that Cruz had his Instagram account set to public when he committed the mass murder at his former high school, while his public defender argued against that reasoning:

“He is not required to make his Instagram private to have a reasonable expectation of privacy,” Assistant public defender Nawal Bashimam told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer on Monday during a pre-trial evidentiary hearing.

This is just one request that the defense has made on the behalf of Cruz.

Late last year, attorney’s also requested that prosecutors and witnesses reframe from using dehumanizing words to refer to Cruz during trial. They also requested that the judge to prevent the victims and their families from testifying because it might result in “overly emotional displays.”

Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the February 14th shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.

The trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 21. Cruz is facing life without parole or the death penalty.