After hearing from victims of the 1997 Heath High School shooting on Monday and from the shooter—Michael Carneal—on Tuesday, representatives of the Kentucky Parole Board were unable to come to a unanimous decision on whether he should be released.
Carneal told representatives of the board Tuesday that he was hearing voices that told him what to do when he was 14 and that he was struggling with mental health issues, though he also called himself a coward.
He says he still hears voices and experiences violent imagery, but most of it directs him to hurt himself and he doesn’t listen.
Carneal claims to not remember firing the shots that killed Nicole Hadley, Jessica James and Kayce Steger and injured five other students.
He said he isn’t sure if he deserves parole and that some days he believes someone should kill him for what he did. Carneal also agreed with those who believes his actions in 1997 may have helped bring about the national epidemic of school shootings that have claimed hundreds of lives in the last 25 years—as the Heath shooting was one of the first to gain national news coverage.
After deliberations, Ladeidra Jones with the Parole Board said they were unable to come to a unanimous verdict and will have to take the matter to the full board.
The board will convene on Monday of next week and deliberate to make a decision.