Friday, March 29, 2024

Dylann Roof Sentenced to Death for Murder of 9 Black Church Members

Dylann Storm Roof, center, with his lawyers, during jury selection Monday in U.S. District Court in Charleston, S.C. Robert Maniscalco
Dylann Storm Roof, center, with his lawyers, during jury selection Monday in U.S. District Court in Charleston, S.C.

*Dylann Roof has just become the first convicted felon to get the death penalty for federal hate crimes.

The avowed white supremacist, who was found guilty in the ruthless killing of nine African American churchgoers who had welcomed him into their Bible study, was sentenced to death this afternoon by a federal jury.

Before the jury headed into deliberations Tuesday, Roof told the jury he still feels he had no choice.

“In my confession to the FBI I told them that I had to do it, and obviously that’s not really true. … I didn’t have to do anything,” Roof said as he made his own five-minute closing argument in the penalty phase of his federal trial. “But what I meant when I said that was, I felt like I had to do it, and I still do feel like I had to do it.”

But he also said he didn’t want to be put to death for his crime.

“From what I’ve been told, I have a right to ask you to give me a life sentence, but I’m not sure what good that will do anyway,” Roof said. “But what I will say is only one of you has to disagree with the other jurors.”

His plea apparently fell on all twelve sets of deaf ears.

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