NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The group that sued for documents and writings from The Covenant School shooting to be released to the public filed an appeal Thursday to a judge's decision preventing their release.
Among those on the appeal include the Tennessee Firearms Association, the Tennessean, and Star News Digital Media.
In a 60-page order in July, Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles wrote that the Tennessee courts have determined that public access to every record at any time doesn't uphold the justice system.
Among the documents in question include writings from the Covenant shooter written before the deadly attack and security details from The Covenant School.
This lawsuit emerged as Metro didn't immediately release the shooter's documents in April 2023. At that point, police hadn't released any writings and denied open records requests — including one from us here at NewsChannel 5. Metro Legal said it denied those records because it was part of an open investigation. It then decided not to release anything because of the litigation over the records.
How did we get here?
On March 27, 2023, six innocent people were killed at The Covenant School.
They were: Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, Katherine Koonce, Mike Hill and Cynthia Peak. Three students and three staff members.
In the aftermath of the shooting, a Special Session would take place as parents of those in the school would fight for changes in school safety.
Then began the discussion over the release of the shooter's writings. Early on in the discussion, Metro Police refused to release the writings and several groups filed a lawsuit claiming that violated the state's public records act.
The case was then set to be heard in a Nashville court. It was then moved to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
In November, a three-judge panel decided families could intervene in the case. However, a surprise release of some of the shooter's hate-filled ramblings stole headlines.
In January of this year, a Chancery Court judge decided the show-cause hearing would take place on April 16th and 17th.
Who is calling for a release of the documents?
The Tennessee Firearms Association, National Police Association, the Tennessee Star, The Tennessean and Sen. Todd Gardenhire — are arguing for a full release of the documents.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
