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KKK leader admits killing recruit | KKK leader admits killing recruit |
(20 minutes later) | |
A Ku Klux Klan leader has pleaded guilty to murdering a woman recruit, a day after an initiation rite in the US state of Louisiana in 2008. | A Ku Klux Klan leader has pleaded guilty to murdering a woman recruit, a day after an initiation rite in the US state of Louisiana in 2008. |
Raymond Foster, 45, of the Louisiana town of Bogalusa, was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder of Cynthia Lynch. | Raymond Foster, 45, of the Louisiana town of Bogalusa, was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder of Cynthia Lynch. |
A former KKK member testified that Foster shot Ms Lynch, 43, after she told him: "I want out", AP reports. | A former KKK member testified that Foster shot Ms Lynch, 43, after she told him: "I want out", AP reports. |
Foster apologised to the victim's mother, and his own family, in court. | |
"I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me," he said. | |
Ms Lynch was shot dead in November 2008 a day after initiation rites in rural Tammany Parish, about 50 miles (80km) north of New Orleans. | |
Photographs taken by a witness at the intitiation ceremony show the group in white Klan outfits. | |
In one photo, Foster uses a sword to "knight" Ms Lynch; in another, they are shown embracing. | |
Disabilities | |
The victim's mother, Victoria Lynch, said outside the court that she forgave the killer. | |
I'm relieved because Cynthia has got her justice and maybe now she can rest in peace Victoria LynchVictim's mother | |
"I feel sorry for both him and the entire family. It's something that never should have happened to a child like Cynthia. | |
"I'm relieved because Cynthia has got her justice and maybe now she can rest in peace." | |
Mrs Lynch said her daughter was born with a number of disabilities and had no formal education or holding a job, Louisiana's WWLTV reported. | |
The trial was stopped shortly after the first witness took the stand so Foster could make his plea. |