Kentucky v. Michael Carneal Kentucky school shooter sentenced to life in prison with parole Updated Dec. 16, 1998 6:00 p.m. ET PADUCAH, Ky. (Court TV) — After an emotional confrontation with his victims' families and friends, Michael Carneal, the Kentucky high school student who opened fire on a group of his classmates last December, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years. Michael Carneal kept his head down for most of his sentencing, raising it only to be escorted out of the courtroom. Carneal received three concurrent life sentences for the murders of Kayce Steger, Jessica James, and Nicole Hadley on Dec. 1, 1997. He also received an additional 120 years for five counts of attempted murder and burglary. During his sentencing, Carneal did not make a statement and mostly sat with his head down, refusing to face the relatives and classmates of the people he killed and wounded. The parents of the girls killed during Carneal's shooting spree urged Judge Jefferey Hines to give Carneal the maximum sentence and said that Carneal had changed their lives forever. "We've all been sentenced to a prison sentence to which we have no probation," said Gwen Hadley, whose daughter was killed by Carneal. "I urge you, Judge, to do the same to Michael Carneal." Students who witnessed Carneal's shooting rampage cried as they relived the events and spoke directly to Carneal. One thought that a life sentence was not stern enough for the 15-year-old Carneal. One young woman addresses her friend's killer. (2:01) "I don't care if you're sorry," said Kelly Hart, the victims' classmate. "I know you can't get this sentence here, but I would love to see you get the death penalty. So what if you were called a few names? We never did anything to you. The girls you killed did not deserve to die. To me, you chose the death penalty for them." On Oct. 5, Carneal pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder and first-degree burglary. At his sentencing, clinical psychologist Dewey Cornell testified that while Carneal showed signs of schizophrenia and paranoia, he still was aware of the sentence he was about to receive. Cornell said that Carneal was tormented by his crimes and was ready to receive the maximum punishment because he believes he deserves punishment. After the shooting, Carneal told investigators that he had seen his crime portrayed in the film "The Basketball Diaries. In the film, the lead character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, dreams of shooting a teacher. Carneal falsely remembered that the character shot five students while other students cheered. Carneal has said he felt like he was in a dream when he fired on the group of students who had just finished an informal prayer session in the hallway. On the day of the shooting, he brought five guns to school after he had wrapped them in a quilt and told his mother they were props for a science experiment. The guns — a pistol, two rifles and two shotguns — were stolen from a neighbor's garage on Thanksgiving Day. Misconduct charges have been filed against Michael Breen, the attorney for the families of the slain girls, for releasing the results of Carneal's mental evaluations to the press. The reports say Carneal understood the criminality of his behavior, despite claims that he never intended to kill anyone. Carneal is cited saying he planned to wave the guns around and maybe wound someone, but believed a .22 caliber bullet wouldn't be fatal. "It is my opinion that Michael Carneal, although mentally ill, did have an appreciation [for] the criminality of his behavior and the capacity to restrain himself when he killed three students at his school and injured five others," concluded Diane Schetky, M.D. in her forensic evaluation of Carneal. Judge Hines could offer little consolation to Carneal's victims after the sentencing. He only hoped that they found a bit of comfort in their victim impact statements. "It is unusual for the court to allow several statements to be read into court like they were here," Hines said. "I can't imagine the pain that all of you have had to live with and continue to endure everyday. God bless you all." Court TV's Bryan Robinson, Kathryn Rubenstein and Andrew Brooks contributed to this report.