Confessed killer heading to life prison term

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A man once imprisoned for a child is going back - this time for the rest of his life under a deal with prosecutors that spares him the death penalty.

John Albert Gardner III will be sentenced in San Diego Friday to life in prison without the possibility parole for raping and murdering two girls. The case has sparked calls to change child sex predators are punished and tracked.

A bill in the California Legislature would allow life sentences for some offenders and lifetime electronic monitoring of others. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered a review of the parole system.

Gardner pleaded guilty last month to killing 14-year-old Amber Dubois last year and 17-year-old Chelsea King in February.