PADUCAH, Ky. — The boy who opened fire on a prayer circle at Heath High School in 1997 turns 18 Friday and is expected to be transferred to an adult prison to serve the rest of his sentence.

        Michael Carneal asked McCracken Circuit Judge Jeff Hines to approve his request that he not appear in court Friday for resentencing as an adult.

        “I do not feel it is in my best interests to attend this hearing because of the mental stress and anxiety it would cause me,” Mr. Carneal said in an affidavit filed Tuesday. He thinks his sentence of life without the chance of parole for 25 years is appropriate.

        “I realize I can receive the best treatment for my condition as an inmate in an institution operated by the Department of Corrections; this is where I want to be,” he said.

        Within a week after formal sentencing, Mr. Carneal is expected to be transferred from the Northern Kentucky Youth Development Center in Crittenden to the Correctional Psychiatric Treatment Center at the Kentucky State Reformatory in La Grange, an adult facility.

        He will be evaluated for several days, after which he will be assigned to the appropriate adult treatment program. Previous court documents indicated Mr. Carneal suffers from schizotypal personality disorder, which can occur in individuals who are suspicious, paranoid, have odd beliefs and magical thinking, and display odd or eccentric behavior.

        Although court documents indicate he has responded well to treatment, the documents also say he has occasional relapses that cause him to be depressed and in some cases suicidal.

        Mr. Carneal was 14 when he took firearms to school and opened fire in the lobby on Dec. 1, 1997, killing three students and injuring five who were part of a morning voluntary prayer group. In October 1998, he pleaded guilty to three murder charges, five charges of attempted murder and one charge of breaking and entering.

        Killed were Jessica James, 17; Kayce Steger, 15; and Nicole Hadley, 14.

        Since the shootings, Mr. Carneal has been in the custody of the Department for Juvenile Justice. Under state law, when he becomes an adult Friday, he must be resentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections.

        “I believe the sentence imposed ... is the appropriate sentence and I do not wish to be probated, conditionally discharged or returned to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice ...,” Mr. Carneal said in the court document. “I do not want my family, friends or the community to suffer through any more hearings or media attention.”

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