whole judges are not affected by the Sandy Hook coverage, the coverage does inform judges about issues surrounding the disorder and diagnosed offenders in the criminal justice system and could encourage future discussion on how to handle these issues moving forward. The majority of judges believed that the public is negatively affected, with the media coverage creating a fear, distrust and misunderstanding in society of those with the disorder and their potential or likeliness to commit an act like that seen in Newtown. Yet, by recognizing that the Sandy Hook coverage may negatively affect the public, judges once again have an opportunity to vocalize their worries about this negative bias to the public and other criminal justice actors, as well as inhibit it from influencing criminal justice practice.

Asthough at the time, there were no confirmed reports of either individual's diagnosis. In 2013, a report by the Connecticut state's attorney (Sedensky 2013) finally confirmed Adam Lanza had been diagnosed in 2005 with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) that consisted of Asperger's Syndrome characteristics. The connection between Autistic Spectrum Disorders and violence has been something commonly discussed surrounding mass shootings in recent years ([@R72]).

In the case of Adam Lanza and the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, there was an especially large amount of media attention surrounding the connection between his violent actions and his possible diagnosis with Asperger's Syndrome. This sensational media attention and speculation perpetuating the link between Asperger's Syndrome, Autism and violence resulted in backlash from psychiatric experts, advocacy groups