Tennessee judge blocks release of trans school shooter Audrey Hale’s manifesto, writings—cites copyright claims of victims’ families

"Prior to her ruling," the Tennessee Star reported, "Myles first controversially allowed parents from the Covenant School, the Covenant School, and the Covenant Presbyterian Church to intervene in the case after Hale’s family claimed they assigned them the copyright of her written materials."

"The release of the remaining documents which are not original, derivative or compilation works created by the assailant is further constrained by the exceptions to disclosure set forth by the General Assembly," she said.

Myles stated that "the federal Copyright Act serves as a valid exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act and thus preempts the disclosure of any original work of authorship in any form created by the assailant Hale which has been collected by Respondent Metro. The Petitioners have no right to any such requested information."

Myles will allow the release of the Nashville Police Department's investigative report on the shooting once it is complete, but that report will not include any information about the security of the Covenant School.

Many have demanded that those writings be released. Pages from the documents have been leaked to some outlets, such as the Tennesee Star, which has published pages from the documents showing how disturbed Hale was in her thoughts about life, death, Christianity, and gender. Families of the three young students and three adult staff who were killed have not wanted the material made public.

What has been leaked to the public shows that Hale had fantasies of killing her family and shared this information with a therapist. Hale wrote about her "imaginary penis" and wanting to have sex with women as a man. "I finally found the answer—that changing one's gender is possible," she wrote. "I need a trans doctor," an entry read. "This female gender role makes me want to not exist."

"My penis exists in my head. I swear to god I'm male." She wrote that she was interested in having sex with women as a male. She discussed sex with stuffed animals, saying "I can pretend to be them [and] do the things boys do [and] experience my boy self as Tony," the Star reports the journal reading. She said her "stuffed boy doll" was "like the boy I am in another form."

Hale also wrote that she was "white nothingness." The journalist who published this, Michael Patrick Leahy of the Tennessee Star, was ordered to appear in court and face contempt charges for not revealing the source of the leak. Arguments against the release of the documents include that Hale's plans could be used for the commission of a copycat crime.

Yet, "police have not identified a clear motive [for] the shooting, though they have said that the assailant, a 28-year-old former student of the school, had been receiving treatment for an emotional disorder and had 'considered the actions of other mass murderers,'" The New York Times reports.

Myles will not allow the publication of those journals. "School shootings and violence have unfortunately become commonplace in our society," Myles said. "Access to immediate information has also become a societal expectation which we all share."

"However," she continued, "there are occasions when this immediate access to and demand for information must be balanced and moderated to safeguard the integrity of our legal system, particularly the criminal legal system."

The judge is very active on social media and posts about giving commencement addresses at 5th grade graduation ceremonies, Black History Month, and other occasions.

COVENANT_Memorandum and Opinion FINAL 7.4.2024 by The Post Millennial on Scribd