Judge says Nashville school shooter’s writings can’t be released as victims’ families have copyright
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The writings of the person who three 9-year-olds and three adults killed at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville last year cannot be made public, a judge ruled Thursday.
Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles ruled that the children and parents of The Covenant School own the copyright to any writings or other works created by shooter Audrey Hale, a former student killed by police. Hale’s parents inherited the works and then transferred ownership to the families.
Myles ruled that “the original writings, diaries, art, photographs and videos created by Hale” are subject to an exception to the Tennessee Public Records Act created by the federal Copyright Act.
The ruling comes more than a year after several groups filed requests for public documents seized by Metro Nashville police during their investigation into the Shooting March 2023.
The shooter left behind at least 20 journals, a suicide note and a memoir, according to court documents. When the requests for documents were denied, several parties filed a lawsuit and the situation quickly escalated into a messy mix of conspiracy theories, leaked documentsinheritance battles and allegations of ethical misconduct. Myles’ ruling will almost certainly be appealed.
After initial requests for the documents last year, police said they would eventually release the documents but could not do so immediately because their investigation was ongoing. The groups that filed the lawsuit seeking the immediate release of the documents — including news organizations, a gun rights group, a law enforcement nonprofit and Tennessee state Sen. Todd Gardenhire — argued that there was no meaningful criminal investigation underway since Hale, who police said acted alone, was dead.
Meanwhile, a group of Covenant parents were allowed to intervene in the case, arguing that the data should never have been made public. They said the release would be traumatic for the families and could lead to copycat attacks.
As part of the effort to keep the data secret, Hale’s parents transferred ownership of Hale’s property to the parents’ group. Attorneys for the parents then argued that they owned the copyright, further reasoning the data could not be released.
The Covenant School and Covenant Presbyterian Church, which share a building, also intervened in the case, arguing that the documents should remain sealed because their release could jeopardize their safety.
The Associated Press is one of the organizations that requested the documents but participated in the lawsuit.
Part of the interest in the documents stems from the fact that Hale, who police said was “identified female at birth,” may have identified as a transgender man. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is among those who have promoted a theory that the shooting was a hate crime against Christians. The delay in releasing the documents has fueled speculation — particularly in conservative circles — about what they might contain and conspiracy theories about why police were reluctant to release them immediately.
As the lawsuit continued, pages were removed from a magazine. leaked to a conservative commentator which she posted on social media in November. More recently, The Tennessee Star dozens of stories published based on a reported 80 pages of Hale’s writings, provided by an anonymous source. The publication is one of the plaintiffs, and Myles briefly threatened to hold the paper’s editor-in-chief, Michael Leahy, and owner, Star News Digital Media, in contempt.