3 plead guilty to 9 church arsons
Three former college students pleaded guilty in Birmingham to federal arson charges for burning nine churches in a series of blazes that alarmed rural congregations across the state.
Matthew Cloyd, Benjamin Nathan Moseley and Russell Lee DeBusk entered the guilty pleas to arson and conspiracy charges in the string of church fires set on two nights in February.
The three wore orange jail jumpsuits and leg chains as they stood before U.S. District Judge David Proctor, who told them they all face minimum seven-year sentences.
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