Deryl Dedmon, 19, of Brandon, Mississippi, is charged in the killing of James Anderson.

Editor’s note: This story contains language that some readers may consider offensive.

(CNN) — A white Mississippi man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2011 murder of an African-American man, with the judge calling it a “despicable crime.”

Deryl Dedmon pleaded guilty to murder and a hate-crime charge before a judge in Jackson on Wednesday afternoon, admitting to the June killing of James Craig Anderson. Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill sentenced him to two concurrent life terms, saying, “This craven act isn’t who we are.”

“Whatever excuse you offer, forget that. There is no excuse,” Weill said. He added, “The state of Mississippi condemns this despicable crime.”

Dedmon, 19, is also expected to plead guilty to still-undisclosed federal charges Thursday, three sources with knowledge of the case told CNN — the first indication that federal charges were being brought in Anderson’s death.

Anderson died after he was beaten and run over by a truck driven by Dedmon, according to police. Dedmon was part of a group of seven white youths from largely white Rankin County who decided to “go fuck with some niggers,” after a night of partying and drinking, law enforcement officials have said, quoting some of the suspects in the case.

His killing prompted several large marches and prayer vigils in Jackson, a city of about 537,000 people.

The suspects range in age from 17 to 19. According to investigators, they drove 16 miles in two vehicles from Rankin County to Jackson, where after exiting the highway, they found Anderson alone in a parking lot about 4 a.m. on June 26.

The white men allegedly beat Anderson repeatedly, yelling racial epithets. After the beating, Dedmon drove his Ford F-250 truck over him, leaving him to die, according to what some of the teens cooperating with police have told authorities.

Plant worker James Craig Anderson was run over and killed by a group of white teens in June, Mississippi authorities say.

Smith, who is prosecuting the case, has said he and his team “believe that the evidence will show that these teenagers went out with the intention to harm and, in this case, kill a black man.”

Dedmon is the only one in jail, and bail has been repeatedly denied.

Anderson’s death drew national attention after CNN first reported it and aired exclusive surveillance video of the killing, captured by a parking lot security camera in a Jackson suburb.

Dedmon, of Brandon, Mississippi, would face the death penalty if convicted of murder. A second man, John Aaron Rice, was initially charged with murder, but a judge reduced the charges to simple assault because Rice was not believed to be driving the vehicle used to kill Anderson.

For months, lawyers have been working behind the scenes in Jackson, where Dedmon is being held, fighting over a change of venue in a possible trial. Law enforcement officials said the two sides are also discussing a possible plea arrangement, which might also draw in the other white men who were present during the attack but have never been arrested.

Smith had hoped to have a trial in Jackson, where the crime occurred and which is largely black. But defense attorneys wanted to move the trial to an area with a larger white population, the law enforcement officials said.

Murder suspect carried ‘backpack of hatred’

Authorities believe Dedmon led and instigated the attack. On a sweltering Mississippi night in June, a gang of youths climbed into Dedmon’s green truck and a white SUV and drove to the western edge of Jackson. They would have seen Anderson immediately as they exited the highway, officials said. He was standing in a hotel parking lot just beyond the exit ramp.

On the videotape obtained exclusively by CNN, the group pulls into the parking lot and stops where Anderson is standing, although he is just off camera and not visible.

The young men can then be seen going back and forth between their cars and Anderson. Witnesses told authorities this is when Anderson’s beating took place, as the white youths yelled racial epithets including “white power.”

Authorities allege Dedmon and many of the other teens pummeled Anderson repeatedly as he crumpled to the ground, although this is not visible on the tape. After the beating, some of the white youths left, and others got into the green Ford truck.

At this moment, Anderson becomes visible on the tape as he staggers into view and walked toward the truck.

“Defendant Dedmon drove the F-250 out of the parking lot and turned right onto Ellis Avenue,” the lawsuit says. “Just as Dedmon turned right, his headlights shone directly on Anderson, who, having been severely beaten, was stumbling in a grassy area near the motel’s entrance. Dedmon accelerated, drove onto and over the street curb, and struck Anderson with the front of the F-250.”

Shortly afterward, Dedmon allegedly boasted and laughed about the killing, according to statements some of the teens made to detectives. “I ran that nigger over,” he allegedly said in a phone conversation to the youths in the other car.

“He was not remorseful,” Smith said. “He was laughing, laughing about the killing.”

During a bail hearing last year, Dedmon’s attorney told the court he saw nothing to back up the “racial allegations.”

Anderson’s has sent a letter asking state and federal officials not to seek the death penalty against Dedmon or any other youths who might be charged in the case. The letter states that the family is opposed to the death penalty partly for religious convictions of faith.

The U.S. Department of Justice had been looking into the death as a possible federal hate crime and assisting local prosecutors. Federal investigators also have been digging for months into other possible crimes in the area committed by Dedmon and others that might show a pattern of racial violence.

The Anderson family has also filed a wrongful death suit against all seven of the white youths who were present at the beating of Anderson. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nationally recognized organization in Montgomery, Alabama, that opposes racism and intolerance, joined in the lawsuit to help the case, joining forces with the family’s attorney, Winston J. Thompson III.

“James Anderson lost his life for no other reason than the color of his skin,” said Morris Dees, chief trial counsel for the law center . “Those responsible must be held accountable for their callous and deadly actions. We are filing this lawsuit today to ensure his family gets a measure of justice.”

Anderson, a line worker at a Nissan plant, sang in his church choir, Thompson said. He is survived by his partner of 17 years.

“He was just a pillar of the community,” Thompson said. “He paid his taxes on time; he went to work, came home — he was just an average, ordinary citizen, good guy, wonderful gardener.”

“Anyone who knew James could see that he was a caring man with a beautiful smile,” said Anderson’s sister, Barbara Anderson Young. “He was such a compassionate person. We must take an honest look at the racial climate that motivated some young people to hurt such a wonderful person.”