Jury sentences Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof to death

Roof picked out Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church, the South’s oldest black church, to target his victims on 17 June, 2015, the jury was told.

The jury, which comprised nine white and three black members, came to a unanimous verdict after three hours of deliberation, which was announced by United States district judge Richard Gergel.

A U.S. grand jury handed down the maximum punishment for the sickening massacre inside a Charleston church previous year.

He rejected a defense based on his mental health – which might have been his best defense to avoid the death penalty, according to the Times.

Assistant US attorney Jay Richardson said the 12 people Roof targeted were God-fearing church members who opened the door for a white stranger with a smile.

“There is no room in America’s smallest jail cell for hatred, racism and discrimination”, he said from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In his closing argument on Tuesday, Roof denied that he was filled with hatred. “The FBI asked if I hated black people”, he said. He said he hoped to start a race war with his actions.

“I’m just concerned that he will bring up things that aren’t in evidence and talk about his views”, Richardson said in federal court.

In those thoughts, laced with racist vitriol, Roof expressed a lack of remorse, another potential aggravating factor, writing, “I would like to make it crystal clear”. “But I’m not sure what good that would do anyway”. He argued to Gergel that it gave prosecutors an unfair advantage.

The dead were Clementa Pinckney, 41, the church’s pastor and state senator; DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49; Sharonda Coleman Singleton, 45; Cynthia Hurd, 54; Susie Jackson, 87; Ethel Lance, 70; Myra Thompson, 59; Daniel Simmons Sr., 74; and Tywanza Sanders, 26.

He spared Polly Sheppard, 72, to tell the world about his crimes.

The slaying shocked the nation and President Obama even sang Amazing Grace at a memorial service for the victims.

Dylann Roof speaks in the courtroom in Charleston on January 10.

He was seen laughing and making gun motions as he described the massacre to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He referred to his confession when an Federal Bureau of Investigation agent asked him if he hated black people. “Sadness was reserved for little white children who had to live with African-Americans”.

“We will always love Dylann”, the statement reads in part. Every time I hear about the shooting I cry.

“I would personally be content with reinstating segregation and punishing certain individuals as need be”. Much like the rest of his defense, Roof’s portion of it was quite short and to the point. “I was worn out”. They shed tears and their voices shook, but none of them said whether Roof should face the death penalty. He could receive the death penalty if found guilty.