Last two defendants plead guilty in string of Mississippi hate crimes

By Therese Apel JACKSON, Miss. (Reuters) - Two white Mississippi men pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to their roles in a string of racially motivated attacks on blacks in 2011 that included the killing of a man run over by a truck. The defendants were the last of 10 to be convicted in connection with the attacks, which included the killing of James Craig Anderson, 47, and sparked outrage in a state that has struggled to overcome a long history of racism. "The hate crimes to which these defendants have pleaded guilty were as shocking as they were reprehensible," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. Speaking in court, John Blalack, 20, described how on the night of Anderson's murder, he and others traveled about 25 miles from a party in rural Puckett to Jackson, which they called "Jafrica," to harass black people. Blalack pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, while co-defendant Robert Rice, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of the same charge. Each charge carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Both men are scheduled to be sentenced in April. Rice was not present on the night of Anderson's death but was among a group that beat another black man two months earlier and left him pleading for his life, he said in court. "It has been a mighty, mighty good day," said Anderson's sister, Barbara Anderson Young. "We've been waiting for almost four years for justice for James Craig Anderson, and that's what today was." The driver of the pickup truck, Deryl Paul Dedmon, previously pleaded guilty to state charges involving Anderson's death and was sentenced to two life terms. (Editing by Jonathan Kaminsky and Peter Cooney)