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'Does Nikolas Cruz Deserve to Die?' school quiz sparks controversy

Parents, students are upset about an assignment that asks if school shooter should get the death penalty.
Posted at 9:58 AM, Dec 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-10 14:17:20-05

A copy of a school quiz with the title 'Does Nikolas Cruz Deserve to Die?' recently went viral.

The quiz was meant to be an assignment on the death penalty. School officials say it was distributed to students at Coral Glades High School in Coral Springs last week. The high school is just a few miles away from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where Cruz shot and killed 17 students and staff earlier this year.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: More coverage of the Parkland shooting | 3 assistant principals, security specialist reassigned at Stoneman Douglas HS | Cruz accused of attacking officer inside jail

Stoneman Douglas parents like Cindy Levine are furious. "These people lost their children, for crying out loud. And my son could have been one of them."

The outrage spilled onto social media. Stoneman Douglas survivor and student activist Cameron Kasky, quoted in the quiz, tweeted "I cannot begin to express how pathetic I find this." 

School board critic Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter in the school shooting, tweeted: "This is absolutely despicable." And, "Does anyone @browardschools have a brain?"

School staff posted a message on the school website Friday saying they were unaware of the assignment.

It said the material was from a subscription-based publication and has been pulled.

The school said it's instituting a review and regrets the incident occurred.

Scholastic, the publisher, sent WPLG a statement that their intention was to "... provide a platform for meaningful conversations around the history, civics and social impact of the death penalty. We deeply regret if this real life example added in any way to the ongoing suffering of the students, families and educators of the Parkland community."

 

 

WPTV