Parents of Nashville shooting victims urge court to deny release of shooter’s writings in new declarations

By Alta Spells, CNN

(CNN) — Parents of two of the three children killed during the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville expressed their pain and loss in filed declarations asking the court to deny Freedom of Information Act requests for the release of the school shooter’s writings.

“I have no desire to write this statement,” wrote Erin Kinney, the mother of one of the students killed in the March 27 shooting. “Every natural instinct in me tells me to hide from the world and shelter what is left of my family. I long for privacy and to be left alone from media intrusion, homicide investigations and unwelcome legal battles. I do not want anyone beyond our local community to know our names, faces or anything about us. I want to go back to March 26 and enjoy my family as it was – intact, vibrant, and whole – before an individual I have never met rampaged The Covenant School, savagely destroying my child’s life and the lives of friends and beloved teachers and staff.”

In the declaration, the grieving mother voiced frustration at the tactics used by the media. “As if it wasn’t enough to lose my baby, we have been robbed of our privacy by the media who have relentlessly cold called our friends and family, parked outside our homes, harassed me at work, asked to photograph my child’s room, and even surreptitiously entered churches and my home.”

Kinney said those demanding the release of the materials were helping the dead shooter accomplish “immortality” as she described her responsibility to protect the surviving victims from what she called “the unfathomable trauma of encountering sensitive material about the deaths of their siblings, friends, teachers; and most certainly to protect them from ever encountering the hateful, diseased words of the monster who slaughtered six human beings in their school.”

The mother said the “mass murderer” should not get to speak from the grave “while our three children, along with the three adult victims are silenced in this life.”

Parents Katy and Michael Dieckhaus said their “life and family has been turned upside down” since losing their youngest daughter Evelyn. They describe lying in bed every night with their oldest and remaining daughter, trying to console her.

“As one of the families going through such deep grieving of losing their loved one – after simply dropping her off at school, we hope a more respectful, clear view can truly start to occur to help make a change that does not include releasing volumes of leverage for others planning similar devastation in this nation,” the parents wrote in their declaration.

Parents of several of the surviving students who attend The Covenant School and were present the day of the shooting wrote about the social, emotional, and physical manifestations of grief and trauma that their children continue to experience in their declarations. The parents expressed concerns that their children would be forced to suffer additional trauma and be victimized again by the release of the writings.

They also expressed fear that the release of the material could present a roadmap for those with inclinations to commit similar crimes in the future.

“Please do not release these writings and cause further victimization and pain to my children – they have already suffered enough,” wrote parent Jennifer Nelson, the mother of two of the students who survived the shooting.

Petitioners seeking to have the writings released – including The Tennessean newspaper – maintain the documents are public records and the First Amendment and the Tennessee Constitution grant public access to the records in a brief filed last week.

The petitioners also claim the parents – who were granted the right to intervene in the case by Judge I’Ashea L. Myles – do not have standing in the case.

“The Intervenors also allege the potential for certain types of damage which are unproven. They offer no proof from any learned treatise or expert in support of the allegations. In essence, their allegations are basically their wishes. Appellate courts in Tennessee have found no legal authority supporting an exclusion from the Tennessee Public Records Act for an otherwise public record based upon the wishes of citizens involved,” said the brief filed before their declarations from the parents.

Last week, the petitioners filed an appeal of the ruling to allow the parents, school and church to intervene in the case and petitioned Myles to pause the proceeding pending the outcome of the appeal. Myles denied the request for a stay.

A “show cause” hearing has been scheduled for July 12, to hear from the parties involved in the case prior to Myles deciding whether the writings from the shooter will be released.

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