In mid-March, Nikolas Cruz, the alleged murderer of 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, attended his arraignment hearing.

Cruz has been indicted on 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, and 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree, a total of 34 counts.

The prosecution is seeking the death penalty as punishment for Cruz, which is legal in the state of Florida. Currently, the state has 347 people on its death row. Michael Satz, the attorney for Broward County, described Cruz’s case as the “type of case the death penalty was designed for.”

At the hearing, Cruz remained silent, his head hung low as he stared at the ground for the majority of the hearing, refusing to look at the cameras. Cruz took a “stand mute” plea at the hearing, allowing the judge to assume his silence as a not guilty plea. However, Cruz’s lawyers have made it evident that Cruz will plead guilty on all 34 counts when and if they remove the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without parole. Howard Finkelstein, one of Cruz’s public defenders, stated, “We are not saying he is not guilty, but we can’t plead guilty while death is still on the table.”

Cruz’s lawyers are expected to focus on his mental instability during the court case in order to convince the jury to veer away from the death penalty. However, the prosecution is convinced that they can prove that Cruz was aware of the risks he posed to the lives of others when committing the felony.