Sandy Hook shooter’s writings ordered released to public
HARTFORD, Conn. — Some of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter’s 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 have been released from the investigation that did not determine a motive for the massacre of 20 first-graders and six educators 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 asked to view Lanza’s belongings, seized by authorities during a search of Lanza’s home and described in a state police report released about a year after the shooting. State police rejected the requests, citing privacy rights.
The Courant appealed to the state 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-in-chief of the Courant. “Understanding what a mass killer was thinking not only paints a clearer picture of the individual, it helps us identify … red flags that could be part of a prevention formula for future mass shootings.”