FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A judge has denied a request from the suspect in last year’s Florida high school massacre to seal the identities of jail visitors from prosecutors and the public.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said the logs are subject to release under the Public Records Act, without exemptions for defense experts visiting inmates.
Nikolas Cruz’s attorneys said prosecutors will learn their strategy if they learn which mental health experts are examining him.
Scherer’s Friday ruling said only the identities are disclosed, and the “mere potential speculation” about visitors will not compromise Cruz’s right to a fair trial.
The Associated Press and other news outlets argued for the jail records’ release.
The 20-year-old Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted in the shooting that killed 17 people in February 2018 in Parkland.
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