Sandy Hook shooter’s journals to be released

Some of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter’s personal belongings, including personal journals containing stories about hurting children and a spreadsheet ranking mass murders, must be released to the public because they are not exempt from open record laws, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Thousands of documents already have been released from the investigation that ended without determining a motive for the massacre of 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, but the writings could provide insights into the thinking of the shooter, Adam Lanza.

The Hartford Courant and other media organizations requested to view Lanza’s belongings, which were seized by authorities during a search of Lanza’s home. State police rejected the requests, citing privacy rights in the state’s search and seizure law.

The Courant appealed to the state’s Freedom of Information Commission, which in 2015 ordered state police to release the documents. But Superior Court Judge Carl Schuman overruled the commission in 2016 — a decision overturned Tuesday in the 5-0 Supreme Court ruling.

“We feel these documents are necessary to tell a complete story in our reporting,” said Andrew Julien, publisher and editor-inchief of the Courant.

It’s not immediately clear when the 35 requested items will be released.