A man charged with killing two nuns will plead guilty as part of an agreement removing the possibility of the death penalty, a Mississippi prosecutor has said.

District Attorney Akillie Malone-Oliver agreed that Robert Earl Sanders could plead guilty to capital murder on June 21, after she spoke to the victims' families.

The decision takes into consideration that the women who were killed in 2016, Sisters Margaret Held and Paula Merrill, opposed the death penalty, said Ms Malone-Oliver.

The agreement calls for him to be sentenced to life without parole, she said.

The nuns worked as nurse practitioners in one of the poorest parts of the US. They were found stabbed to death in their home after failing to show up for work.

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