Dylann Roof Sentenced To Death In Emanuel AME Massacre

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Dylann Roof should be put to death, a federal jury decided Tuesday in the sentencing phase of his trial in the shooting massacre at Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina, reports CNN.

Roof, an avowed White supremacist, shot and killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015. A jury of 10 women and two men decided Roof’s fate, recommending the death penalty for eighteen counts against him. Judge Richard Gergel will formally sentence Roof on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. ET, writes the news outlet:

The prosecution and defense rested in the penalty phase on Monday, bringing to a close days of heartbreaking testimony from family and friends of victims who were killed.

Prosecutors argue that he’s a calculating killer who deserves the death penalty because of his motive, his lack of remorse and the shooting’s impact on the victims’ families.

In his closing argument Tuesday morning, Assistant US Attorney Jay Richardson described the lives of all nine victims, cited Roof’s “racist hatred” and reminded the jurors of the testimony and evidence that convicted him:

The jury’s verdict came after a prosecutor highlighted the “god-fearing” spirit of the nine church members killed in the heinous slaying, reports WABC-TV.

Here’s Roof’s response to the sentence in his closing argument:

“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 … 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 … 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 … But what I will say is only one of you has to disagree with the other jurors.”

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