MICHAEL CARNEAL (14yo tempore criminis) | HEATH HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING (1997) | LWOP | UNOPENED AUTOGRAPHED LETTER/ENVELOPE SIGNED

Michael Carneal. ALS. Pmk: 05/16/2017. UNOPENED. Contents unknown. Pristine.

The Heath High School shooting

• Classification: Homicide
• Characteristics: Juvenile (14) - School shooting; Copy-cat killer
• Number of victims: 3
• Date of murders: December 1, 1997
• Date of arrest: Same day
• Date of birth: 1983
• Victims profile: Nicole Hadley, 14 (his girl-friend crush/unrequited); Jessica James, 17; and Kayce Steger (students)
• Method of murder: Shooting
• Location: Paducah, Kentucky, USA
• Status: Sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 6, 2022

Carneal admitted to stealing several guns from a friend's garage and hiding them for three days in his bedroom. On the morning of December 1, 1997, Carneal, who was then fourteen-years old, took the guns to school and opened fire on students congregated in the main lobby, many of whom were participating in a prayer circle. He killed three of his classmates and wounded five others, two of whom were very seriously and permanently disabled.¹

When it was over, Michael said he'd imagined it all differently. He thought he'd fire one shot, everyone would take off running and he “could run around and do stuff and take over the school”.

He also expected to return to school the next day, and “everyone would be nice to me then”.²

Carneal had in his locker at the time a copy of Stephen King's novel Rage, first published in 1977 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. After this shooting, King requested his publisher to allow it to go out of print, fearing that it might inspire similar tragedies. Rage for a time continued to be available in the UK in The Bachman Books collection, although the collection now no longer contains Rage.

Carneal received three concurrent life sentences for the murders of Kayce Steger, Jessica James, and Nicole Hadley on Dec. 1, 1997. He also received an additional 120 years for five counts of attempted murder and burglary. During his sentencing, Carneal did not make a statement and mostly sat with his head down, refusing to face the relatives and classmates of the people he killed and wounded.

In early 1999, the parents of three victims represented by Jack Thompson filed a $33 million lawsuit against two Internet pornography sites, several computer game companies and makers and distributors of the 1994 film Natural Born Killers and the 1995 film The Basketball Diaries. Michael’s parents also blamed the media for his rampage. They claimed that media violence inspired Carneal and therefore should be held responsible for the deaths that occurred. The case was dismissed in 2002.³

Michael Carneal was denied parole and must spend life in prison (as at Sep 6, 2022). The serve-out ruling means Carneal, 40, will never be considered for parole again.

• VIDEO: Michael Carneal Copycat Killers S2E05 | https://youtu.be/vY1Uc-d5YHA
• VIDEO: Micheal Carneal, teen gunman in 1997 Kentucky school shooting, says he still hears voices | https://youtu.be/5sEj4XzgpxY

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