FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz is due back in court Friday for a hearing designed to get the death penalty case moving forward. Confessed school shooter Nikolas Cruz appeared in a Fort Lauderdale court on Friday afternoon for a procedural issues hearing, keeping his head mostly hung low and his eyes on the ground. RECOMMENDED: Why Nikolas Cruz's death penalty trial would be complicated

Cruz’s public defender also is likely to ask to waive Florida’s speedy trial rule. Cruz is charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14, 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A judge sought Friday to get things moving in the death penalty case against Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz. Prosecutors had said they intended to seek the death penalty for Cruz, saying the shooting was “especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.”

Cruz’s defense team has said there is no question he did it, and he’s willing to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty.
Nikolas Cruz, the accused suspect of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, is due to be in court. The hearing is expected to deal with several procedural issues, possibly including the setting of an initial trial date.