Prosecutors spent several hours trying to prove school shooter Nikolas Cruz purposely did poorly on tests administered to see if he suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the primary reason his attorneys say he murdered 17 people four years ago.
after her husband died when Cruz was 5 and never got him complete treatment for his mental health issues. She died less than three months before the shootings.
Denney, who does contract work for the federal prison system, testified Tuesday that he disagrees with the defense experts' contention that Cruz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The Missouri practitioner said the former Stoneman Douglas student's IQ scores of about 90 and the results of tests given him after the attack don't support that diagnosis.
“Mr. Cruz's scores are exactly what we would expect for person who does not have any fetal alcohol problems,” Denney said. Denney will be cross-examined by Cruz’s attorneys on Thursday. Court will not be in session Wednesday because of Yom Kippur. The prosecution is expected to finish its rebuttal case in the coming days with closing arguments and deliberations scheduled for next week.
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