CHURCH SHOOTER TO PLEAD GUILTY ON STATE CHARGES

COLUMBIA, S.C. Convicted South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof is set to plead guilty to state murder charges, avoiding a second death sentence and effectively bringing to a close the prosecutions against him for the 2015 slaughter.

Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said Friday that Roof is scheduled to enter a guilty plea April 10 in Charleston. The plea on all of his state charges, including nine counts of murder, comes in exchange for a sentence of life in prison, the prosecutor said.

Earlier this year, a federal jury sentenced Roof, 22, to death on charges including hate crimes.