By Associated Press
Paducah, KY – A federal judge is set to hear testimony today in Paducah over the extent of the mental illness suffered by a man in prison for killing three high school classmates in a 1997 shooting at Heath High School. U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell will preside over the hearing in the case of 27-year-old Michael Carneal. Carneal wants Russell to find he was mentally incompetent to appeal his guilty plea. Carneal is serving life in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill in 1998 to killing three classmates and wounding five others at Heath High School. Carneal's family, survivors of the attack and family members of the students killed are expected to attend the hearing. Carneal is eligible for parole in 2023.