The National Archives has proposed that depositions given by the parents of the Columbine High School killers be kept at its Denver regional center and be made public after 20 years.
The federal records agency weighed in on a legal battle over what to do with the parents’ testimony, which was given in connection with lawsuits that have been settled.
The agency said that any materials from Columbine given to it would be of significant historical value and would never be destroyed. Archives officials said their general philosophy is open access to records.
The agency’s proposal was in response to U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock’s suggestion that the Columbine depositions be sent to the National Archives, where they would remain sealed for 25 years.
Then, Babcock proposed, the National Archives would decide if the depositions are of significant social value. If they are, the agency could release them to the public. If not, they’d be destroyed.
The National Archives said, however, that after receiving court records, the normal practice of its Denver center is to assume legal custody after 20 years. Then it normally gives the public full access to the records, it said. But if Babcock rules to seal the records for a longer period of time, the agency said it would abide by his wishes.
The archives’ position statement was submitted to Babcock by Troy Eid, U.S. attorney for Colorado, who also was on the Governor’s Columbine Review Commission studying the 1999 tragedy in which two students shot 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
