Krupa Shah
Staff Writer
On Monday, Nov. 28, a federal judge granted Dylan Roof the right represent himself in his own trial with being evaluated competent just a week prior. Roof has been accused of killing nine people in a Charleston church in June of 2015. Roof faces thirty three federal charges including violation of the Hate Crime Act, obstruction of exercise of religion, and the use of a firearm to commit a murder. If Roof is convicted, he could potentially face the death penalty.
Roof’s trial began on Dec. 7. During several interrogations with the FBI, Roof has been documented to be nonchalant and sometimes laughing about the situation at hand and why he chose to kill the nine parishioners in the church.
He told FBI officials that he scouted out different locations but ultimately chose the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church to execute his plan. When asked about how many people he killed he stated that he wasn’t sure about how many people he killed and just said that he just killed the people and did not have a well thought-out plan.
When Roof was questioned about why he killed them, he said: “I had to do it because somebody had to do something. Black people are killing white people every day on the street, and they are raping white women. What I did is so minuscule to what they’re doing to white people every day all the time.”
He also talked about how after he killed everyone in the church, he planned to turn the gun on himself. He was unable to do this as the police stormed the church during that time.
During the trial, prosecutors introduced Roof’s journal as piece of evidence documenting his hatred for the black community. In the journal, he wrote about why segregation was a good thing in America and his desire to recreate that system today in America. He also wrote about how he considered the white race to be superior to the black race.
As the trial progressed in the following days after his confession, many of the victims’ families had testified in an attempt to sway the jury. Many experts are saying the Roof will most likely be unable to escape the death penalty.
Update: Roof was sentenced to death on January 10, 2017.
Update: Roof was sentenced to death on January 10, 2017.
