The Confederate flag is gone from South Carolina’s Statehouse. The bullet holes have been patched in Emanuel AME’s fellowship hall. And now Dylann Roof will almost certainly spend the rest of his days in prison for killing nine black worshippers at the Charleston church.
A federal jury convicted Roof on all 33 counts Thursday. Those same jurors will decide in another phase of the trial starting Jan. 3 whether he faces the death penalty or life in prison for hate crimes at a historic African-American church whose founder led a failed slave revolt.
When that testimony starts, Roof will be his own attorney, having again fired defense lawyers who fear Roof is taking over because he doesn’t want them to present embarrassing evidence in their efforts to spare his life.
A stunning crime when it happened on June 17, 2015, became more revolting during six days of testimony. Roof fired 77 shots in the fellowship hall. More than 50 hit someone. Each of the nine people killed were struck at least five times. The medical examiner said the angles of some of the bullets seemed to show someone was holding a gun over victims who were lying still with their arms pulled against them. A prosecutor said they were executed like animals.
Roof didn’t hesitate to explain his racist beliefs during his confession to FBI agents and left a handwritten journal full of his views, such as blacks being inferior to whites. He also left behind carefully chosen pictures of himself holding the .45-caliber Glock he used in the killings, posing at historic Civil War and African-American sites and holding the Confederate flag.
As the verdict was read, Roof just stared ahead, much as he did the entire trial. Family members of victims held hands and squeezed one another’s arms. One woman nodded her head every time the clerk said “guilty.”
Roof’s lawyers presented no witnesses and tried in vain to introduce evidence that problems with Roof’s mental health led to the killings. But U.S. Judge Richard Gergel said that kind of evidence is only permissible in the upcoming penalty phase, when Roof will represent himself.
In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams mocked Roof for calling himself brave, saying the real bravery came from the victims who tried to stop him.
“Those people couldn’t see the hatred in his heart any more than they could see the .45-caliber handgun and the eight magazines concealed around his waist,” Williams said.
Williams’ 50-minute closing argument filled the court with tension. At times, the prosecutor raised his voice, saying Roof was a cold, calculated killer. Some family members of victims dabbed their eyes with tissues, and jurors appeared emotional when Williams, after apologizing to them, showed crime scene photos of each person killed alongside a small picture of them while alive.
Those pictures included the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41, Emanuel AME’s pastor and a state senator; Myra Thompson, 59, who taught Bible study that night — the same night she was licensed to preach; Cynthia Hurd, 54, a librarian who stayed to support Thompson; Depayne Middleton-Doctor, 49, who friends said sang like an angel and was also licensed to preach the day of the shootings; Daniel “Dapper Dan” Simmons, 74, nicknamed for his shiny shoes and fine hats; Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45, a high school track coach heavily involved in the church’s youth programs; Ethel Lance, 70, the church sexton who kept the bathrooms and building immaculately clean; Susie Jackson, 87, who sang in the choir and sent generations through the church; and Tywanza Sanders, 26, Jackson’s nephew and an aspiring poet who wanted to work with children.
Defense lawyer David Bruck conceded Roof committed the slayings, but he asked jurors to look into his head and see what caused him to become so full of hatred, calling him a suicidal loner who never grasped the gravity of what he did.
Survivor Felicia Sanders has her own theory. She thinks Roof is a coward, too, because he refused to look at her as she testified. She refused to say after the verdicts were read Thursday whether she wants Roof to die for his crimes.
But she left a news conference with reporters smiling. It’s her way to honor her nine friends killed in their church.
“I wear a smile, because if you look at the pictures of all nine, they’re smiling,” Sanders said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Vincent says
I believe he has earned the death penalty. Justice must be served. Let him be an example. Electrocute him on a pay per view channel,with all proceeds going to the affected families, perhaps this would be a good deterrent . In the history of the country , there were public hangings .
Helen Higgason says
I disagree sir, the death penalty is NOT a deterant at all, if it were, there wouldn’t be SO much murders, the murder rate is increasing all the time, it’s the mind set of these kind of people, their upbringing, mental conditions, all hosts of things, contribute to the murder rate..
B. J. Lee says
Matters not whether death penalty is a deterrent to crime. It is a valid means to end evil and provide justice to the families and the country.
Wendy says
I agree. Hateful human demon seduced by Satan. If ANYONE deserves it, he does. No twenty years of stinking appeals either. Off this slime.
Mark Frederick says
There is no doubt that Roof is guilty and no doubt in my mind that he should be executed for his crimes. There is no doubt in my mind that oBOZO is a TRAITOR and he too should be executed for his crimes against this country and he is just as guilty as Roof for his crimes.
Road Runner says
Why make the bastard another BURDEN on society, anymore than he already has made himself by murdering nine innocent people SIMPLY BECAUSE THEIR SKIN COLOR WAS NOT THE SAME AS HIS? They ought to grind the sonofabitch’s bones up for hog feed and then throw them to the sharks in the Atlantic Ocean. THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION WHATSOEVER FOR WHAT THIS HOMICIDAL LUNATIC DID TO THOSE POOR SOULS. NOTHING!!!! NADA!!!! NICHTS!!! This insane claud belongs in the same category as guys like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy and other serial killers. The ONLY THING EFFECTIVE THAT CAN BE DONE WITH THESE MANIACS IS ERASE THEIR MEMORIES AND THEIR BODIES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
Al Barton says
He deserves the same thing being done to him as he did to those people that he killled. NO life sentence in prison thats too good for him.
Al Barton says
The Death penalty is what needs to be given anyone who kills a policeman or woman, further if anyone shoots but not kill a policeman or woman the penalty to be imprisoned for 10yrs at hard labor, no early release. We can stop all this killing of our officers of the LAW.
Justin W says
This guy should receive the death penalty. He ended the life of his victims with a gun so he should have no problem facing a firing squad.
rodney Burke says
there are too many crimes, too much callous disregard for there to be anything less than death. No not be electrocution, by firing squad or hanging. This was barbarous. He knew better. It was a cacullated, act. The death if nothing else, will make a few think about the consequences of their action.
ABUTOM says
WASN’T THIS GUY AN ATHEIST WHO ALSO HATED CHRISTIANS? WHY DID HE PICK A CHURCH?
Mark Frederick says
Every time I see garbage like this it can all be blamed on the news agencies and the AME church and their keep hate alive sermons every Sunday morning and night service they hold and they always have these fine RACIST speakers lined up like Jesse Jackson , Al Sharpton and Andrew Young the ones that were with Martin Luther King Jr. when He died and sadly his teachings died with him and his beliefs. These so called self ordained minister’s have made a fortune for themselves off the name of Martin Luther King Jr and their personal feelings. Martin would roll over in his grave if he knew what these so called friends have done to his PEACEFUL teaching and his leadership. They make a great amount of money off the bad things that went on in the 60’s like the murder of the girls at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham among other things all the peaceful demonstrations the blacks had all over the South it was a sad time but some thing went wrong with the black movement some blacks were making money hand over fist and some worked and made an honest living while others started making a living off the coat tails of Dr. King and the backs off of working blacks taking up donations from them and putting it in their pockets, the black preachers started paying people to come and speak at their church and the churches started getting more followers and then more money to take in and the more it payed to bring in bigger names in the black community it is still a money making business just ask some of the people that make the money, you got Andrew Young who became the Mayor of Atlanta he has made a lot of money off his fellow blacks and there is Jesse Jackson that has made a ton of money going from church to church all around the country taking in more and more money for each speaking engagement and then you have AL Sharpton doing the same thing and there is so called Rev Wright of Chicago fame you know of his talent of getting professional people together to cover up their homosexual affairs and remember one of these couples Barack and Michelle Obama and that all depends on who you ask, Joan Rivers had her opinion on their marriage and she dies in the operating room having a simple operation done and there have been other husband and wife teams that got married just for the fun of it and died for it. I would really hate to be one of the children of them and have to face it later in life when you find out from a friend at school that saw it on some show like Jerry Springer or Nancy Grace show. I guess time will tell when another name and story is raked though the mud of politics or Hollywood.
Steve Star says
Please put this piece of excrement 6 feet under. I do not carry a gun, but I would be glad to assist with money, time and effort any member of the law enforcement community duly authorized to put a bullet in his head. I am SO ANXIOUS to watch this piece of excrement get his brains spattered all over the wall as he is shot in the head via a firing squad. Please record and post the video. Also, chopping off his head via an axe would suit me fine. Feel free to consult the Saudi executioners for pointers. If that’s too graphic, lethal injection shall suffice.
As a white person, I don’t want to see the “stars and bars” displayed anymore.
American Vet says
This white boy strongly feels that the “defendant” more than deserves the death penalty….to be that cold blooded and evil is something that needs to be dealt with accordingly. I am sure he would suffer in prison and become somebody’s bitch… but that would be too good for him. Innocent, loving people invited him into their “circle”… and were murdered for their kindness. He is pure evil…and pure evil deserves to be and needs to be dealt with accordingly, regardless of race, color, creed, etc.
Al Gargas says
I’m tired of all bleeding heart liberals. The death penalty does prevent crime. There are many repeat crimes and I never heard of anyone coming back from the dead to repeat another one.
Larry Thompson says
Any farmer who breeds livestock for quality will tell you that the herd has to be culled every now and then to maintain the herd quality. This sadistic killer needs to be “culled” from the herd; he’s bringing down the quality. If he gets Life Without Parole, I have a suggestion; put him in genpop where a lifer can help the herd by “culling” the defective from our herd.
Mark says
Take care of him in the same manner in which
He did his victims, with no blindfold !