DOJ will seek death penalty for Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof

Dylann Roof may be put to death for his crimes.
(Image credit: Handout/Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday it will pursue capital punishment for Dylann Roof, the white man accused of killing nine black churchgoers during a service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The DOJ released a list of reasons why it will seek the death penalty, including Roof's "lack of remorse" and the fact that the killings were "racially-motivated" and "intentional." Roof faces 33 federal charges from the June 2015 incident, including hate crimes and obstruction of religion.

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.