CRANSTON, R.I. -- The owners of the Rhode Island nightclub where 100 people were killed in a fire in 2003 will plead no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter, according to a letter written by Attorney General Patrick Lynch and obtained by affiliate station WJAR on Wednesday.

Lynch said Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, owners of The Station nightclub, will withdraw their not guilty pleas on Sept. 29 and enter no contest pleas to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Michael Derderian's trial was expected to begin Oct. 3.

Details of the plea were explained in a letter written by Lynch and sent to victims and family members. WJAR reported that the attorney general was also calling the survivors. WJAR received a copy of the letter from an anonymous source.

The letter said Judge Francis Darigan is prepared to sentence Michael Derderian to 15 years at the state prison with four years to serve and 11 years suspended. He would serve three years of probation.

Jeffrey Derderian would be sentenced to 10 years, but his entire sentence would be suspended and he would not serve any time. He would serve three years probation and 500 hours of community service, the letter said.

Lynch said Darigan will invite survivors and family members to give impact statements in court before the Derderians are sentenced. In the letter, Lynch said he has not agreed to the pleas and that essentially it is not a plea deal. He said he would continue to strongly voice his objection.

Lynch said despite his objection, the law allows the court to accept a change of plea without the attorney general's agreement.

"Notwithstanding my objection to the sentences that Judge Darigan intends to impose, there can be no dispute that the right to a trial that the United States Constitution affords is a right that belongs to the accused, not to the State," Lynch wrote. "In other words, our system of justice does not allow the State to demand a trial; that right belongs exclusively to the criminal defendant."

Lynch's letter said that Michael and Jeffrey Derderian informed Darigan last week that they were prepared to accept responsibility for their roles in the fire and change their not guilty pleas.

WJAR's calls to the court were not returned. A spokesman for Lynch said the attorney general was unavailable for comment and that he was busy calling as many families as he could.

The Associated Press reported that relatives of those killed were furious at the news.

"I can't believe the attorney general is just going to stand by and say OK to this," said Diane Mattera, whose 29-year-old, Tammy Mattera-Housa, died in the fire. "I mean, we got shafted with Biechele and now the same stuff basically is being pulled."

Robert Bruyere, whose stepdaughter, Bonnie Hamelin, died in the fire, said he and his wife, Claire, learned about the plea on the news and had not yet heard from the attorney general.

"He better hope I don't see him person, because I'll be in jail," he said.

The Feb. 20, 2003, fire killed 100 people and injured 200 others. Investigators said a pyrotechnics display for the band Great White ignited foam that had been place around the stage as soundproofing.

Tour manager Dan Biechele, who set off the fireworks, was sentenced in May to four years in prison. He must serve 16 months before he's eligible for parole.