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instruction. and we knew that was a concern to the commonwealth at that point. and in virginia if he had been convicted of first degree the maximum punishment would have been life in prison. there would have been no death penalty on the table. reporter: ray dandridge was spared the death penalty. he received life in prison without parole in exchange for pleading guilty not just to the tucker-baskerville murders but also to the harvey family killings. relieved. whenever you can determine that your client is not going to be looking at the death penalty anymore, it s always a great relief. reporter: responsible for these eight death, ray dandridge and ricky gray are behind bars for good. i don t think it would have stopped. they were never going to look to leave another witness living. reporter: ray dandridge cannot appeal his decision, since he pleaded guilty to the tucker-baskerville murder. under virginia law, ricky gray s death sentence will automatically be reviewed by the