Connecticut panel meets for 1st time to review laws after Sandy Hook massacre

Jan. 14, 2013: White roses with the faces of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are displayed on a telephone pole near the school on the one-month anniversary of the mass shooting that left 26 dead, including 20 children in Newtown, Conn. (AP)

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's panel charged with reviewing state laws and policies after the deadly Newtown school shooting, which left 20 first graders and six educators dead, is now hearing from experts who sat on similar commissions following mass shootings in Colorado and Virginia.

A state prosecutor told the panel that the Connecticut State Police are still investigating the deadly Dec. 14 shooting and that "no prosecution is on the horizon."

Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III said it will take police several months to finish their investigative report. He said it could be ready by June.

Sedensky said he could not provide any information about the mental health background of the shooter, Adam Lanza, because it was privileged information.

The 16-member panel of experts, headed by Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson, faces a March 15 deadline to provide Malloy with a preliminary list of recommendations pertaining to school safety, mental health and gun violence prevention.

In addition to Malloy's group, the General Assembly has formed a bipartisan task force that is examining the same issues. A subcommittee on school safety is holding a public hearing on Friday at the Legislative Office Building. A hearing on gun safety is planned for Jan. 28 and another hearing on mental health issues is scheduled for Jan. 29.

Members of Malloy's task force will also hear Thursday from two former members of similar commissions created by governors following mass shootings.

Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Denver's district attorney at the time of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, will make a presentation. He was a member of the Columbine Review Commission, which conducted a review for then-Gov. Bill Owens.

Ritter was elected governor of Colorado in 2007 and he served until 2011.

Also, Virginia Law Professor Richard Bonnie will discuss how his state reacted to the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. He was a consultant to then-Virginia Gov. Tim Kane's Virginia Tech Review Panel. Bonnie is director of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia and is chairman of the Virginia Commission on Mental Health Law Reform.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.