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CHARLESTON, S.C. —
Afederal jury on Tuesday
condemned unrepentant
white supremacist Dylann
Roofto death for theJune
2015 massacre of nineblack
parishioners ata South Car-
olina Bible study class.
Roof stoodstone-faced,
showing noemotion, as U.S.
District Judge Richard
Gergel announced thejury’s
unanimous verdict, which
came after about three
hours of deliberation.
Relatives andfriends of
thevictimswerequiet.Some
left court smiling and em-
bracing.
“Todaywe had justice for
my sister,” Melvin Graham,
the brother of slain church-
goerCynthiaHurd,saidout-
side thecourthouse.“This is
avery hollow victory be-
cause my sister is stillgone.”
Graham said the death
penalty was fitting for Roof,
who last monthwas con-
victed of the killings, be-
cause his act was so brutal
and he showed no remorse.
“He just took themaway
from us because hewanted
to,” Graham said.“Hede-
cided theday, the hour, the
moment that my sisterwas
going to die. And now some-
one isgoing to do the same
for him.... He’s in God’s
hands now.”
Before the jury of nine
whites and three blacks be-
gan deliberating, Roof, who
decidedto represent himself
during the sentencing phase
of the tria l, offered the panel
no explanation or apologies
for the shooting. He said
only that he felt he hadto do
it.
In his lastwords to juro rs
before they decided whether
to punish him with death or
life in prison without parole,
Roof said hewas misunder-
stood. Yet he ultimately de-
clinedto give j urors anyex-
planation for the massacre
or a sing le reasonto spare
his life.
Roof acknowledged that
he told FBI investigators af-
ter he was arrested that he
hadto do it.“But obviously
that’s notreallytrue,” he
toldthejury.“Ididn’thaveto
do it.I didn’t have to do any-
thing....WhatImeantwhenI
saidthatwasthatIfeltthatI
had to do it, andI still do feel
like I had to do it.
“Anyone, including the
prosecution, who thinks
that I’m filled with hatred
has no ideawhat real hate
is,” Roof saidawkwardly, his
faceflushed as heread halt-
ingly from notes. “They
don’t know anything about
me. They don’t know what
real hatred looks like. They
think theydo, but they don’t
really.”
Prosecutors, inturn, told
juro rs that Roofwas a cold
and calculated racistwho
dismisseda whole classof
people as “brute animals”
and continuedto believe the
shootings were worth it,
evenafterhearingofthe“im-
measurable loss” of his vic-
tims’ loved ones.
“He wants you to believe
thatyou have been misled
andthatindeedhewasjusti-
fied,” Assistant U.S. Atty.
Julius “Jay” Richardsontold
the panel. “Hewants you to
believe he was justified in
committing a modern-day
lynching. Don’t letthat be....
Renderthe full measure of
justice for this defendant.
Sentence this defendantto
death.”
Last month, the sameju-
rors found Roofguilty of all
33 charges against him, in-
cluding multiplecounts of
committing a hate crime
against black victims, ob-
structing theexercise of reli-
gion and usinga firearmto
commit murder.
On Tuesday, prosecutors
provided the jury with a
lengthy list of aggravating
factors that they saidjusti-
fiedthedeathpenaltyrather
than life in prison.
Not only had Roof killed
multiple victims and endan-
gered others, Richardson
said,but he also conducted
substantial planning, was
motivated by racial preju-
dice and hopedto incite oth-
ers. Roof, the prosecutor
said, showed “not one ounce
of remorse.”
After the verdict, Roof’s
family, which remained
mostly silent since the
shooting at the historical
Emanuel AfricanMethodist
Episcopal Church, issued a
short statement.
“We will always love Dy-
lann,” the statement said.
“We will struggleas long as
weliveto understandwhyhe
committed this horrible at-
tack, which caused so much
painto so manygood peo-
ple.”
Roof’s defense lawyers,
whoservedasstandbycoun-
sel during the sentencing
phase of the trial, said in a
statement that the decision
to imposethe death penalty
meant the casewould not be
over fora long time.
“We are sorry that,de-
spite our bestefforts, the le-
galproceedingshaveshedso
little light on thereasons for
this tragedy,” the defense
statement said.
Gergel set Roof’s formal
sentencing forWednesday
morning. Roof, who has de-
velopeda tense relationship
withhis defenseteam, asked
the judge whether hewould
appoint new lawyers to help
file a request fora new trial.
Gergel told Roof, who
faces a separate death pen-
alty trial in state court, that
he was “strongly disin-
clined”to appointnewattor-
neys butwould listento any
motions Roof made
Wednesday.
Inclosingarguments,the
trial’s lead prosecutor of-
fereda window into each of
the nine victims’ lives, show-
ing juro rs family photos of
them at ballgames, wed-
dings, vacations andgradu-
ations.
“You now know the last
moments this lastgroup of
12 spent toge ther,” Rich-
ardsontoldthejury,remind-
ing them the nine victims
wereamong a dozen who
hadgatheredtogether that
muggy June evening to
study thegospel of the Book
of Mark’s Parable of the
Sower. “You alsonow know
how extraordinarily good
these peoplewere.
“They welcomed the de-
fendant witha kindword, a
Bible, a handout and a
chair,”hesaid.YetRoof“had
come notto learn, notto re-
ceive the word.... He’d come
witha hateful heart and a
Glock.”
After showing images of
Roofposingwithapistoland
aConfederate flag and en-
gaged in target practice in
his backyard, Richardson
argued thatthe defense had
failedto showany possibility
that Roofwas capable of any
meaningful change or re-
demption.
On Tuesday,Roof didnot
offerjuro rs anyreason for
forgiveness.
“From what I’ve been
told, I have a ri ght to ask for
forgiveness on my sentence,
but I’m not sure whatgood
that will do anyway,” Roof
told juro rs before they delib-
erated. “But whatI do know
is that only one ofyou has to
disagree with the otherju-
rors.”
The 22-year-old high
school dropout also ad-
dressed thejury at the be-
ginning of the death penalty
hearing lastweek — onlyto
insist hewasnot mentally ill.
On Tuesday, as he spoke
about howhe felt the need to
commit the killings, Roof
said, “I think that it’s saf e to
say that no one in their right
mind wantsto gointo a
church and kill people.”
Over the lastweek, Roof
declinedto cross-examine
any of the prosecution’s 25
witnesses or present any
witnesses of hisown.
Outsidethe courthouse,
Graham said he hoped that
Roof might at some point
turn his life around and
make a humbleconfession
to God.
“When hegets there, he
can join my sister and the
othereig ht in heaven.... For
God said, ‘I will forgive you.
For no matter whatyou do, I
will forgive you,’ ” he said.
Asked whether he had
forgiven Roof, he paused.
“I’ma wor k in progress,”
hesaid.“Ith inkthat,intime,
thatwill come. I can’t liv e in
hate.... But right now, no.”
Jarvie is a special
correspondent.
Church shooter sentenced to die
In lastwords tojurors,
DylannRoof offersno
apology: ‘I still dofeel
like I hadtodoit.’
By JennyJarvie
JENNIFER PINCKNEY,in black coat, and others leave federal court in Charleston, S.C., after a jury ordered
the death penaltyfor Dylann Roof, who killed herhusband, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, and eight others.Brad NettlesPost and CourierROOFdidn’t offer a
reason to spare his life.Charleston County Sheriff’s Office