Dylann Roof sentenced to death for Charleston church massacre

A federal jury has sentenced Dylann Roof to death over the murders of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.

Jurors took just three hours to pronounce the sentence yesterday, after last month finding Roof guilty of all 33 charges relating to the massacre at the African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015.

He is "the first person to face execution for a federal hate crime conviction", reports The Guardian.

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Roof, who had dismissed his legal team, delivered a "halting and cryptic closing argument", the Washington Post reports, but "not once during his very brief remarks did [he] say he regretted his actions".

Instead, he told jurors: "The prosecution and anyone else who hates me are the ones that have been misled."

He added: "I think it's safe to say that no one in their right mind wants to go into a church and kill people. I still feel like I had to do it."

Several relatives of Roof's victims welcomed the death sentence. Kevin Singleton, whose mother Myra Thompson was among the dead, told a press conference: "I would like for that to marinate and travel to the nervous system of that coward. Justice was served."

However, others were more reserved. Melvin Graham, who lost his sister Cynthia Hurd, said the sentence was a "hollow victory", but he hoped it would "send a message to those who feel the way [Roof] feels that this community will not tolerate it".

Roof, 22, a self-described white supremacist, "walked into the church and methodically executed black parishioners who had welcomed him into the weekly Bible study", says the Charleston Post and Courier.

On a confession tape recorded by FBI investigators, he said he had hoped shooting would ignite a race war.

Charleston shooting: Death penalty sought against Dylann Roof

25 May

US prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a man accused of killing nine people in a racially motivated attack on a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"The nature of the alleged crime and the resulting harm compelled this decision," attorney general Loretta Lynch said in a statement.

Dylann Roof, 22, is charged with murdering the congregants during a bible study session in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church last June. He faces 33 federal charges in total, including hate crimes, obstruction of religion and firearms offences.

Prosecutors accuse him of singling out black and elderly victims and say evidence of "extensive premeditation" is justification for seeking capital punishment.

The move is a "relatively rare" one for the government, says the Charleston Post and Courier. "It's especially unusual, experts said, because state prosecutors had already announced plans to seek Roof's execution in their separate case against him."

Some of the victims' families have objected on religious grounds, but others say Roof deserves the ultimate punishment if found guilty.

Kevin Singleton, whose 59-year-old mother, Myra Thompson, was shot dead in the church, said he supported the prosecutors' decision.

"The government is taking a stand, saying this kind of crime won't be tolerated in the [US] and when you do commit a crime, you've got to take responsibility for your actions," he said.

Others said they would prefer to see Roof spend the rest of his life in prison.

"Really, I think the families have mixed emotion," said attorney Steve Schmutz, who is representing some of the relatives. "But if it's ever going to be given, this case certainly calls for it."

Charleston shooting: Dylann Roof could face death penalty

04 September 2015

State prosecutors in South Carolina are seeking the death penalty for the man suspected of killing nine people in a racially motivated attack on a historic African American church in Charleston.

Dylann Roof is charged with murdering the congregants during a bible study session in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in June. He also faces separate hate crime charges.

"This was the ultimate crime," said solicitor Scarlett Wilson, "and justice from our state calls for the ultimate punishment." However, she acknowledged that not all of the victims' families were in favour of capital punishment.

During the 21 year-old's first court appearance, the families spoke of their willingness to forgive him for his alleged crimes. "[But] forgiveness does not necessarily mean foregoing consequences, even severe consequences," said Wilson.

Despite some of the families' religious objections to the death penalty, Wilson said they respected her decision and understood that it was now up to the state to decide on how to proceed.

Documents submitted to the South Carolina court said Roof "knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person in a public place, by means of a weapon" and that he had killed more than two people which is criteria sufficient to invoke the death penalty, says the New York Times.

Andy Savage, an attorney who represents some of the families, said that although many of them were deeply religious and believed in forgiveness, they still wanted Roof to be found guilty and punished for his crimes.

"They want a conviction, and they want this guy to disappear and never to see civilisation again," he told The Guardian. "And hopefully that is because he's going to have to live in a six-by-nine cell."

Dylann Roof's sister seeks wedding funds after Charleston

3 July

The sister of Dylann Roof, the man accused of killing nine people in a Charleston church last month, has been attempting to crowdfund her wedding, according to reports.

Amber Roof was due to marry her fiancé Michael Tyo on 21 June, but four days before their wedding a gunman opened fire on a congregation at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. After police arrested her brother and charged him with the attack, her wedding day was cancelled.

Writing on a GoFundMe page, entitled "A Fresh Start for Michael and Amber", she wrote: "As many of you know Michael and I had to abruptly cancel our wedding day, due to the tragedy that occurred in Charleston. It was suppose [sic] to start our lives together with our new family. Our day was the exact opposite. Our wedding day was full of sorrow, pain, and shame, tainted by the actions of one man."

She also accused the media of abusing her privacy and publishing information about her wedding. "We cancelled our wedding to protect our family and mourn the lives of those lost," she wrote. "Many friends and family members came into town and took time off of work to be there for us. We could not ask you to do that again."

Instead, she said that she and Tyo are seeking donations to cover lost wedding costs, meet bills and bankroll a honeymoon. "We would like the chance to start our lives on a postive [sic] note," she wrote on the page, which has since been removed.

The creator of the GoFundMe page was listed as Amber Roof of Shelby, NC, and GoFundMe confirmed to the Washington Post that Amber Roof created the campaign before removing it on Thursday afternoon after it began to generate media coverage.

Her brother is being held without bail in the Charleston County jail and faces nine counts of murder.

Dylann Roof: Charleston suspect 'wanted to start a civil war'

19 June

Police have arrested Dylann Roof, the 21-year old man they named yesterday as the suspect in the church shooting that left nine people dead in Charleston, South Carolina.

He was apprehended by police after a tip-off from a member of the public in North Carolina, about 200 miles from the attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church.

Roof allegedly took part in a Bible study session at the historic African-American church on Wednesday night before opening fire on the congregation an hour later.

Six women and three men died in the shooting, including state senator and church pastor Clementa Pinckney. The oldest victim was 87-year old grandmother Susie Jackson, the youngest Tywanza Sanders, a 26-year old who had recently graduated from university. Three people survived, including two victims who played dead.

Chilling details have begun to emerge about the attack, reports NBC News. One of the survivors told Senator's Pinckney cousin that her son tried to talk the shooter down, but he refused to listen. The attacker then reportedly said: "You rape our women and you're taking over the country. And you have to go."

Roof's roommate, Dalton Tyler, said Roof had been "planning something like that for six months," reports ABC News. "He was big into segregation and other stuff," said Tyler. "He said he wanted to start a civil war. He said he was going to do something like that and then kill himself."

The suspect's uncle says Roof's father had recently given him a .45 calibre handgun as a birthday present, according to the BBC. "I actually talked to him on the phone briefly for just a few moments and he was saying well I'm outside target practising with my new gun," said Carson Cowles.

Photographs of Roof indicate a strong interest in the far-right and white supremacy, reports the Daily Telegraph. In his Facebook profile picture, Roof is seen wearing a jacket with flags from Apartheid-era South Africa and pre-independence Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

Barack Obama has spoken of his "deep sorrow over the senseless murders" that occurred in Charleston and once again highlighted the issue of gun crime and racial violence. "I've had to make statements like this too many times," he said in an emotional speech.

Prayer vigils have been held across the country, with thousands of people gathering to mourn the victims of the shooting. Reverend George Felder Jr told the New York Times: "We cannot make sense of what has happened, but we can come together."

Charleston church shooting: nine dead in South Carolina hate crime

18 June

A manhunt is underway after a gunman shot dead nine people inside a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

The attacker reportedly opened fire on the congregation in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church at 9pm.

Police have named the suspect as Dylann Roof of Lexington, South Carolina, and described him as a clean-shaven, slender, 21-year-old white male wearing a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots.

Police chief Greg Mullen described the attack on the historic African-American church as a hate crime. "It is unfathomable that somebody in today's society would walk into a church while they are having a prayer meeting and take their lives," he said.

Law enforcement officers from various federal agencies are on the scene, with helicopters and sniffer dogs searching the area.

City mayor Joseph P Riley Jr described the shooting as an "unspeakable tragedy" and pledged to bring the perpetrator to justice "as soon as humanly possible".

Community leaders believe the attack was racially motivated. "It's obvious that it's race," Tory Fields, a member of the Charleston County Ministers Conference, told the New York Times.

"What else could it be? You've got a white guy going into an African-American church. That's choice. He chose to go into that church and harm those people. That's choice."

Community organiser Christopher Cason agreed. "I am very tired of people telling me that I don't have the right to be angry," he told The Guardian. "I am very angry right now."

The attack comes at a time of heightened racial tensions in South Carolina and across the US. Two months ago, unarmed black man Walter Scott was shot and killed by a white police officer in North Charleston.