Gunman up for parole 25 years after 1997 shooting

A Kentucky A man who opened fire 25 years ago, killing three of his high school classmates and injuring others, is up for parole.

But one victim, who survived and is now paralysed, said “a normal life is not for him”.

Michael Cornell, 39, killed three of his Heath High School classmates and wounded five others near Paducah, Kentucky, on December 1, 1997.

The students — 17-year-old Nicole Hadley, 17-year-old Jessica James and 15-year-old Casey Steger — were at a preschool prayer meeting before the fatal shooting occurred.

After the bloodbath, Cornell surrendered his weapon and the principal escorted him to the school office.

Cornell, who was just 14 at the time, was serving a life sentence but was eligible for parole at 25 years, the maximum sentence allowed for someone his age, Fox News reported.

Cornillo has a parole hearing scheduled for Monday, which will begin with testimony from people injured in the shooting and next of kin of those killed.

Missy Jenkins Smith, who was shot by Cornell, is paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. She said Corneal should not be free and argued he remains a threat to society who could harm others

After killing three of his peers, Nicole Hadley, 17, Jessica James, 17, and Casey Steger, 15, Cornell surrendered his weapon and was escorted to the school office by the principal. Cornell, then 14 (pictured), is seen being escorted by officials after he was arraigned at the McCracken County Courthouse on January 15, 1998.

Missy Jenkins Smith, badly wounded in the bloodbath and paralyzed and in a wheelchair, said Carneal should not be free and argued he remains a threat to society.

“For him to have a chance at 39. People get married at 39. They have kids,” Jenkins Smith said. “It’s not right for him to have a normal life that those three girls he killed will never have.”

Before the horrific shooting, Smith said she considered Corneal her “friend.”

Both were in the school orchestra together. She said she “loved being around him because he made a sad day fun”, according to News24.

In 2007, during a prison visit, Smith said Cornell apologized to her and she forgave him, but believed he would continue to hurt others when he was released from prison.

And she’s counting down the days until he’ll be eligible for parole.

“When he was sentenced more than two decades ago,” Smith recalls, “25 years seemed so long,” she said, “but at the 20-year mark,” she said, “it’s getting closer.”

“A lot of people think that makes him immune, but I don’t think so,” she said.

Smith pointed to just one victim who believes Cornillo should be released from prison but given some form of supervised release.

During Monday’s hearing, which will be conducted via video call, Smith plans to put a camera on herself so the parole board can see her wheelchair, “a reminder to anyone who felt the impact 25 years ago, is still dealing with it to the end of their lives.”

Michael Cornell (pictured right) speaks with his attorney Charles Graner at Cornell’s arraignment on January 15, 1998 in McCracken County Court in Paducah, Kentucky.

A Heath High School student screams after seeing the scene of a school shooting where fellow student Michael Cornell opened fire, leaving three students dead and five wounded on December 1, 1997, near Paducah, Kentucky.

Students arriving at Heath High School in West Paducah, Ky., hug an unidentified adult Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1997, after student Michael Cornell opened fire at the school the day before, killing three students and injuring five injuries.

On December 1, 1997, Cornell placed a loaded semi-automatic rifle in a blanket, passing it off as a school art project.

He walked through the doors of Heath Middle School and fired ten rounds at approximately 7:45 a.m., fatally striking members of the youth group.

Later, three girls died, five more students were injured.