A federal appeals court has denied a request by Michael Carneal to withdraw his guilty plea in the 1997 shooting at Heath High School. The announcement of the decision was made Thursday morning by Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway.
The ruling has handed down by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The unanimous opinion upholds a July 12, 2011 ruling by the U.S District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, denying Carneal’s request to withdraw his guilty plea in the shooting that left three students dead and five others wounded.
Attorneys for Carneal, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, had argued that he was mentally unfit to accept responsibility for the crime. Carneal pled guilty in 1998, but did not file for state post-conviction relief until 2004 and did not file for federal habeas relief until 2009. The Attorney General’s Office successfully argued that Carneal’s appeal was not timely and therefore his conviction and life sentence should stand.
The ruling has handed down by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The unanimous opinion upholds a July 12, 2011 ruling by the U.S District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, denying Carneal’s request to withdraw his guilty plea in the shooting that left three students dead and five others wounded.
Attorneys for Carneal, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, had argued that he was mentally unfit to accept responsibility for the crime. Carneal pled guilty in 1998, but did not file for state post-conviction relief until 2004 and did not file for federal habeas relief until 2009. The Attorney General’s Office successfully argued that Carneal’s appeal was not timely and therefore his conviction and life sentence should stand.
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