On Monday, Dylann Roof pleaded guilty to state murder charges over the killing of nine people in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, The Associated Press reports. In doing so, Roof avoids a second death penalty; the jury handed down his first in January, when he became the first person sentenced to death for committing federal hate crimes.
The murder charge plea deal was portrayed by the state prosecutor to the families of the victims as an "insurance policy," so that even if the death sentence is ultimately overturned, Roof, now 23, will still face a lifetime in prison, PBS Newshour notes.
During his federal trial, Roof did not try to avoid the death penalty. "I have the right to ask you to give me a life sentence, but I'm not sure what good it would do anyway," he told jurors. "I still feel like I had to do it." W. James Antle III makes the case that Dylann Roof is the best argument we have for the death penalty at The Week.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictatorIn the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
