NEW : The defendants admitted to previous assaults in the Jackson area , prosecutors say . Three men plead guilty to federal hate crimes in the case . One of the men pleaded guilty to a state murder charge also . They are the first charged with a murder under a new federal hate - crime law .
NEW : The defendants admitted to previous assaults in the Jackson area , prosecutors say . Three men plead guilty to federal hate crimes in Mississippi killing . One of the defendants pleaded guilty to a state murder charge Wednesday . They are the first charged with a killing under a 2009 federal hate-crime law .