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BTK Killer Sentenced to 10 Life Terms

Dennis Rader, the confessed BTK serial killer, receives 10 life sentences for murders committed in Kansas. In June, Rader pleaded guilty to 10 murders that took place between 1974 and 1991.

The sentence, the stiffest available to the judge in the case, would require that Rader serve at least 175 years before the possibility of parole. In sentencing hearings Wednesday, prosecutors gave step-by-step details of how Rader selected and killed his victims.

Rader, now 60, worked as a civil servant and was active in his church in a Wichita suburb. He gave himself the name BTK in messages left for the police, standing for "bind, torture, kill."

At Thursday's sentencing, Rader gave a 30-minute address in which he spoke of his acts, comparing himself to "a predator."

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As NPR's Miami correspondent, Greg Allen reports on the diverse issues and developments tied to the Southeast. He covers everything from breaking news to economic and political stories to arts and environmental stories. He moved into this role in 2006, after four years as NPR's Midwest correspondent.
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