Judge to review shooter’s admission

Release of confession temporarily halted

A Broward judge on Friday put a temporary halt on the release of the Parkland school shooter’s recorded confession after defense lawyers sparred with prosecutors over how much to make public.

Nikolas Cruz gave a statement to Broward Sheriff’s Detective John Curcio hours after Cruz shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and injured 17 others on Feb. 14.

The recording lasts about 12 hours, with a transcript running more than 200 pages, according to attorneys.

Cruz arrived for Friday’s hearing in his red jail jumpsuit, head down and sporting a buzzcut. He appeared to laugh for a moment as he first sat down after a few words from his defense lawyer, special assistant public defender David Frankel. For the rest of the morning, he was expressionless.

Frankel and other defense lawyers say parts of Cruz’s statement are exempt from release under the state’s public records law, while other portions should be redacted out of sensitivity to the victims.

“Publication of certain portions of the statement will cause significant trauma to an already

beleaguered community,” the attorneys wrote in a motion filed Wednesday.

Prosecutor Steven Klinger said his office would not object to a judicial review.

Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer declined to give defense lawyers an advance look at the state’s proposed redactions, but she agreed to review them herself to decide whether Cruz’s rights as a defendant were protected.

She ordered prosecutors to hold off on releasing the confession until she makes her decision.

When a suspect makes admissions to police, whether in a prolonged interview or in the back of a squad car, that statement is typically exempt from public disclosure. But the state’s public records law allows the release of other statements, such as Cruz’s cell phone video outlining his plans before the shooting.

In their formal response, filed Thursday afternoon, prosecutors said “the substance of the defendant’s confession has been redacted,” as required by law. Their plan was to release the rest of Cruz’s statement on Monday.

Scherer did not say when she would approve a redacted confession for public release.