Heath High School Shooter Michael Carneal Moved to New Eastern Kentucky Prison After Parole Denial
ELLIOTT COUNTY, KY — Michael Carneal, the man responsible for the 1997 Heath High School mass shooting, has been transferred to a new correctional facility in eastern Kentucky, according to a report from Spectrum News. Carneal continues to serve a life sentence for killing three students and injuring five others when he was just 14 years old.
Carneal had been housed at the Kentucky State Reformatory in La Grange, where the Kentucky Parole Board denied his request for release in 2022. Last week, officials confirmed he has now been moved to the Little Sandy Correctional Complex in Elliott County — a medium-security facility considered one of the newest and most technologically advanced prisons in the state.
1997 School Shooting That Shocked Kentucky
Carneal was a freshman at Heath High School in West Paducah in December 1997 when he opened fire on a group of students who had gathered for a morning prayer circle.
Three teenage girls were killed:
- Kayce Steger
- Jessica James
- Nicole Hadley
Five other students were seriously wounded in the attack. The shooting stunned Kentucky and became one of the earliest high-profile acts of school violence in the U.S. during the modern era.
Carneal pleaded guilty in 1998 and received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Denied Parole After Claiming He Still Hears Voices
During his 2022 parole hearing, Carneal told the board he had acted on voices he heard at the time of the shooting — and that he still hears them today.
The Parole Board ultimately issued the most severe ruling possible:
Carneal must serve the remainder of his life sentence with no future parole reviews.
Board members cited ongoing safety concerns and the nature of the crime in their decision.
New Home: Little Sandy Correctional Complex
Carneal’s new facility, the Little Sandy Correctional Complex, houses more than 1,000 inmates and contains:
- A medium-security main unit
- A 100-bed minimum-security unit
- A 118-bed special management unit
The Kentucky Department of Corrections describes it as the state’s most technologically advanced institution.
Carneal is expected to remain there for the rest of his life unless his status changes through court intervention.
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