PADUCAH, Ky. — A Kentucky man who killed three students and wounded five more in a school shooting 25 years ago will have to wait another week to learn his fate in a high-stakes hearing that could see him released or denied the chance to ever leave prison.
Michael Carneal was a 14-year-old freshman on Dec. 1, 1997, when he fired a stolen pistol at a before-school prayer group in the lobby of Heath High School, near Paducah, Kentucky.
At a hearing on Tuesday, a two-person panel of the Kentucky Parole Board couldn't reach a unanimous decision and referred his case to the full board, which meets on Monday.
The full board has the power to order Carneal to serve out his full sentence without another chance at parole. They could also release him, or defer his next opportunity for parole up to 10 years.
School shootings were not yet a depressing part of the national consciousness, and Carneal was given the maximum sentence possible at the time for someone his age — life in prison but with the possibility of parole.
A quarter century later, in the shadow of Uvalde and in a nation disgusted by the carnage of mass shootings, Carneal, now 39, had to convince the parole board he deserves to be freed.
"I've had 25 years to prepare for today and it still doesn't feel like its happening," Carneal said via video teleconference.
Tuesday, Carneal told the board about his life while incarcerated. He said he has been receiving care for his mental health and taking psychiatric medications in prison.
He said he also achieved his GED and has been working for an associates degree. If released, he would live with his parents, try to find a job and work towards independence.
Despite the treatment he has received, Carneal said he is still hearing voices telling him to do harmful things. Carneal said voices told him to shoot people at the school that day in 1997.
“I was hearing in my head to do certain things, but I should have know that stealing guns...was going to lead to something terrible,” Carneal told the panel.
When asked about the last time he heard voices, Carneal said that a couple of days ago he heard voices telling him to jump off the stairs.
Parole Board Chair Ladeidra Jones asked how the board can know Carneal no longer poses a danger, given he is still hearing voices.
Carneal said now he has learned to ignore the voices, and has more control over his actions. He said he hasn't taken violent actions in years.
"It's something that is inside my mind, this is produce by my mind, and that's troubling to me that anything I've heard at any part in my life was part of me," Carneal said. "These terrible things were something that came from me."
Jones told Carneal that his inmate file lists his mental health prognosis as “poor.” Even with mental health services, he is still experiencing paranoid thoughts with violent imagery, she said.
Carneal said he would be able to do good in the world if he were released, but he did not offer any specific plans.
“It doesn’t have to be something grand,” he said. “Every little thing you do affects somebody. It could be listening to someone, carrying something. I would like to do something in the future that could contribute to society.”
Carneal said the shooting happened because of a combination of factors that included his mental health and immaturity, but he added that it was “not justified at all. There's no excuse for it at all.”
Carneal offered his apologies to the victims, saying many of them were people he considered friends. He said at the time he didn't understand the full emotional impact his actions would have on the school and community.
"I'm sorry for what I did, I know it's not going to change anything or make anything better, but I want them to know I am sorry for what I did," Carneal said just before the panel deliberated.
The panel could not make a unanimous decision about Carneal's parole case, and referred it to the full state parole board.
His parole hearing began Monday with testimony from those injured and close family of those killed.
Missy Jenkins Smith, who was paralyzed by one of Carneal's bullets and uses a wheelchair, said there are too many “what ifs” to release him. What if he stops taking his medication? What if his medication stops working?
“Continuing his life in prison is the only way his victims can feel comfortable and safe,” she said.
14-year-old Nicole Hadley, 17-year-old Jessica James and 15-year-old Kayce Steger were killed in the shooting. Jenkins Smith said it would be unfair to them and their loved ones for Carneal to be set free.
“They will forever be a 17-year-old, a 14-year-old, and a 15-year-old — allowed only one full decade of life. A consequence of Michael’s choice,” she said.
Also testifying Monday was Christina Hadley Ellegood, whose younger sister Nicole was killed in the shooting. Ellegood has written about the pain of seeing her sister's body and having to call their mom and tell her Nicole had been shot.
“I had no one to turn to who understood what I was going through,” she said Monday. “For me, it’s not fair for him to be able to roam around with freedom when we live in fear of where he might be.”
Hollan Holm, who was wounded that day, spoke Monday about lying on the floor of the high school lobby, bleeding from his head and believing he was going to die. But he said Carneal was too young to comprehend the full consequences of his actions and should have a chance at supervised release.
“When I think of Michael Carneal, I think of the child I rode the bus with every day,” he said. “I think of the child I shared a lunch table with in third grade. I think of what he could have become if, on that day, he had it somewhere in him to make a different choice or take a different path.”
The full parole board will convene Monday, Sept. 26 at 8:30 a.m.
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