Judge at Dylann Roof's hearing replaced under South Carolina Supreme Court order

James Gosnell
(Image credit: Grace Beahm-Pool/Getty Images)

The judge who oversaw the hearing of alleged Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof has been replaced, according to a South Carolina Supreme Court order. Chief Magistrate James Gosnell drew criticism recently when he claimed to his court that the alleged shooter's family members were victims, too.

See more

“We are going to reach out to everyone, all victims, and we will touch them. We have victims, nine of them. But, we also have victims on the other side," Gosnell said. "There are victims on this young man's side of the family."

Gosnell is also accused of having used a racial slur during a hearing roughly a decade ago, and is known to participate in Confederate re-enactments. Gosnell has maintained he used the word in the context of quoting another party.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.