LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Paralyzed from the chest down 25 years ago when freshman Michael Carneal opened fire on eight students at Heath High School in western Kentucky, Missy Jenkins Smith said she has long since forgiven him.
He called his published memoir, “I Choose to be Happy.”
But when Carneal, now 39, goes before the Kentucky Parole Board, which could free him later this month, he will ask to be ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison for killing three people and injure five in the school.
She said she forgave him to move on with her life and that his forgiveness does not release her from the consequences of her actions.
Sabrina Steger, whose daughter Kayce, a 15-year-old sophomore, was killed by Carneal, also said she will urge the board not to grant him probation.
She refuses to mention his name. “I just call him ‘the killer,'” he said.
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But Hollan Holm, who was shot in the scalp by Carneal and suffered no permanent physical injuries but suffered emotional trauma for which he required counseling, said he will tell the board to release him if he can be col ·located somewhere where it is supervised and continues to do so. receive treatment
Holm, who like Carneal was a 14-year-old fellow freshman, said she can’t separate Carneal, the shooter, from the boy she rode the bus with every day in elementary school and sat next to in the lunchroom .
“I don’t see him as the sum of what he did on the worst day of his life,” said Holm, a lawyer with two children.
One of the first school shootings
The shooting at Heath High School in West Paducah was one of the first school massacres in the United States, and Carneal is one of the only perpetrators being considered for parole; most were killed in their attacks or sent to prison for life.
Carneal, who pleaded guilty but mentally ill to murder, attempted murder and robbery, was sentenced to life in prison, but because of his age, he was eligible to be considered for parole after serving 25 years .
The parole board could release him, postpone his case for years or order him to serve his life sentence.
The victims and family members are scheduled to testify before the parole board remotely on Sept. 19, and Carneal is due to appear the next day.
Both parole hearings for Carneal will be open to the public on Zoom. The Department of Corrections will release the phone numbers later this week, spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said.
An immediate release for Carneal is unlikely. The parole board said on its website that “public safety” is its “primary concern.” And its most recent figures show it released only 39% of prisoners, most convicted of far less serious crimes than Carneal, the first time they saw the board.
Carneal declined to be interviewed. His parents, who have moved from Paducah in northern Kentucky, plan to take him home to Cold Spring, according to a plan written for him by the Department of Public Advocacy.
“Please remember that he was only 14 at the time of the crime,” said his father, John Carneal, a lawyer, who requested the plan for his release.
He said that when Carneal, using a .22 semi-automatic handgun he had stolen from a neighbor, opened fire on a prayer circle in the lobby of the school of 500 students, he felt despair for his life and suffered from hallucinations and delusions .
Only after he was incarcerated was he diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, according to his current attorney, Alana Meyer.
He said that for the past 25 years, he has worked with mental health professionals to find medications that have stabilized him.
And his parents said they will take him to community medical centers for further treatment.
“Since his crime … Michael has shown true remorse and taken responsibility for the shooting,” Meyer said.
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Releasing Carneal would send the wrong message
But Missy Jenkins Smith, who is 40, was unapologetic about asking him to remain behind bars for life.
She said she fears she may outlive her parents long and there is no guarantee she will be able to continue taking her medication.
“He’s doing well behind bars and should stay there,” he said. “Why mess with something that isn’t broken?”
He also said releasing him would send the wrong message to others contemplating school shootings.
In addition to Kayce Steger, Carneal also killed Nicole Hadley, a 14-year-old freshman who played in the school’s band and freshman basketball team; and Jessica James, who was 17 and a member of the marching band.
It also hurt Shelly Schaberg, who was voted Miss Heath High School by the senior class and named homecoming queen; Kelly Hard Alsip, who was a member of the softball team and the Future Homemakers of America; and Craig Keene, 15, band member and basketball player.
Several of them and their families are expected to testify before the board.
In his memoirs, published in 2008 and revised twice since then, Jenkins Smith told a story of hardship but also of hope.
She described the embarrassment of getting wet when she returned to school after months of painful rehabilitation. “I went to the office and cried,” she said.
He recalled the joy of playing in the marching band again, but how he could only play from the band in his wheelchair.
She said she didn’t go out much at the high school after the shooting because of complications she faced, such as going to the bathroom. “I didn’t feel comfortable revealing these issues to the guys,” he said.
But in the book, subtitled “Lessons from a School Shooting Survivor” and written with former Cincinnati Enquirer reporter William Croyle, Missy writes that at a sorority party during her freshman year at Murray State University, she meet the love of her life, Josh Smith. . They married and have two sons, Logan, 15, and Carter, 12
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They live near Murray, where she worked for many years as a counselor at a Calloway County Public Schools day treatment center. He also learned to get around with a walker. But due to injuries to his hands and arms, for which he has required surgery, he had to give up both.
She said she worries that her health is deteriorating at only 40 years old and that her children are already taking care of her more than her.
“I have my pity parties,” he said. “I’m afraid for the future.”
“But I’m still alive and I have a family,” she said. “I wouldn’t have this if I was killed that day. I’m blessed.”
In his book, he said to remember that forgiveness is not a sign of weakness.
“It’s the exact opposite,” he said. “It is a sign of strength and courage. Show maturity. And in the end, it makes you a better person, in your eyes, in the eyes of those around you, and in the eyes of God.
Follow Andrew Wolfson on Twitter: @adwolfson.
