Secrecy shrouds Sandy Hook shooting investigation
Source: AP
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A prosecutor is planning to release a report Monday on the investigation into the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, but the public will have to wait longer for the state police's full accounting of the crime.
The decision to continue withholding the bulk of the evidence is stirring new criticism of the secrecy that has surrounded the probe since a gunman killed 20 children and six educators inside the school on Dec. 14.
While the gunman took his own life and authorities are not contemplating any prosecutions, the lead investigator, State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III, has gone to court to fight the release of 911 tapes, consulted privately with victims' families on what might be included in the report and resisted calls from Connecticut's governor to divulge more information sooner.
In defense of their handling of records, investigators have cited the scale of the criminal investigation perhaps the most extensive in Connecticut's history and consideration for the victims' families, some of whom have lobbied for tighter restrictions on public information and complained of being harassed by conspiracy theorists.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/secrecy-shrouds-sandy-hook-shooting-investigation
See also:
Hartford Courant, State's Attorney's Report On Newtown Shooting To Be Released Monday
Newtown Bee, Llodra Now Calling For Release Of 911 Tapes
(Bridgeport) Connecticut Post, Still fragile, Newtown braces for report
And given the title of this story, you'll be interested in knowing that Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting conspiracy theories actually exist, ranging from the just plain paranoid to racist.
Control-Z
(15,682 posts)I believe the wishes of the victims' families, for tighter restrictions on public information, should be respected.
elleng
(130,972 posts)Fine with me.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)kiranon
(1,727 posts)should suffice for the general public to view. IMHO.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)NoOneMan
(4,795 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)NoOneMan
(4,795 posts)Its not reasonable. I arbitrarily draw a line here irrationally. And I don't give a fuck. No
7962
(11,841 posts)Reminds me of when Dale Earnhardt was killed at Daytona. Some media outlet sued for release of the pictures and the autopsy photos, if I remember correctly. Judge said no. As he should have. Whats the legal reason for them to be released?
Ranchemp.
(1,991 posts)then no, unless the parents consent and AFAIK, no parent has consented to that, the wishes of the parents need to be respected.
Response to msanthrope (Reply #9)
Paladin This message was self-deleted by its author.
uppityperson
(115,677 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)uppityperson
(115,677 posts)desire to not have those photos be in the public eye.
Is the only way you can "see the results of the police investigation" by seeing graphic photos of murdered children? How the FUCK does seeing those graphic photos in ANY way show you "results of the police investigation"?
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)I think America should have access to what the love affair with guns has wrought. I agree with Michael Moore...they should be released.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)but can't. Just like the photos of Iraqi children who were victims of our actions there, we need to have the consequences of our actions shoved in our face- maybe one day we will wake the fuck up.
Paladin
(28,264 posts)....and that the gun control movement ought to take full credit for it? Tell you what: why don't we just take up a big money collection for the purpose of providing Wayne LaPierre with free blowjobs for the rest of his life? How much bigger a favor could we possibly do the NRA and the gun militancy movement than what you and Michael Moore are advocating, here? The Gun Enthusiasts would get decades of mileage out of such a bone-headed, insensitive move. And the parents of those poor kids would suffer unimaginable amounts of additional harm and anguish. For Christ's sake, rethink what you're proposing.
Ranchemp.
(1,991 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)of the nation's newspapers. I can understand that.
The victims were minors. They deserve special protection in my view.
Fine with me if they wait a specific number of years before releasing them.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)CBHagman
(16,986 posts)...as well as other family members, friends, and neighbors.
BeyondGeography
(39,374 posts)Thankfully.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,374 posts)He said they shouldn't be released without the parents' permission:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-moore-sandy-hook-no-562002
That side of Michael Moore's mouth is correct.
7962
(11,841 posts)There is even a group who thinks that "actors" were used; the killings were setup, etc. There are some out there who make Palin look like a brain surgeon.
Edit: Checked out that wiki page; I've never heard of half of those wacko theories! Jeeze!
blackspade
(10,056 posts)If the report is done, the scale is irrelevant, and the families' wishes do not preempt the public's right to know.
Ranchemp.
(1,991 posts)The families wishes should most definitely preempt the public's right to see them and that's what seems to be happening here, which I fully support.
Unless the families agree, those pics should never see the light of day.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)in full color, the consequences of their obsessions with guns. We need a collective smack in the face.
Ranchemp.
(1,991 posts)your politics of gun control outweigh the parents wishes to never have these pictures of their children shown?
That's pretty warped.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)when photos of dead Iraqi children were released so we could see what our actions there were doing to that country? The problem with this country is we live our isolated little lives and are never forced to come to grips with the fact that we are a barbaric country.
Ranchemp.
(1,991 posts)The public right to know should not, and, as seems to be the case here, is not going to override the parents right to privacy in regards to the photos of their children, if the parents request them to be released, fine, but my understanding is that they have said no and their wishes should be honored.
Victimizing these parents even more to further a cause is, IMO, pretty sick.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)blackspade
(10,056 posts)According to you, the rest of the report should be secret as well?
THAT is what I'm talking about.
I really have no interest in the pictures, but the report and diagrams should in no way be secret.
Does that clarify my stance on the subject?
If you think that the whole report should remain secret, then I call bullshit on that.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)and the families wishes should be honored. On the other hand it is just going to fuel the conspiracy theorists. They are going to say what they want anyway though.
shedevil69taz
(512 posts)but: government prosecutors and LEO work for ALL the people not just the victims of a particular crime. We have a right to information they find out, when it no longer affects any ongoing criminal prosecutions.
Ranchemp.
(1,991 posts)I would have no problem with the release of the official report, but the wishes of the parents to not release the pictures of their children is, IMO, paramount, there is no rational reason to release those pictures without parental consent.
shedevil69taz
(512 posts)pictures of dead kids don't really provide any meaningful information, and anyone who really WANTS to look at those needs to have their head examined, so if those pictures are withheld I am ok with that. Pictures of the crime scene without bodies in it however, may indeed have significant importance.