Roof asks for partial legal defense
The man accused of killing nine people at a Charleston church has in part reversed course on a decision to represent himself at his death penalty trial, asking the judge to reinstate defense attorneys in the initial phase of trial.
“I would like to ask if my lawyers can represent me for the guilt phase of the trial only,” Dylann Roof wrote in a motion filed early Sunday afternoon. “Can you let me have them back for the guilt phase, and them let me represent myself for the sentencing phase of the trial? If you would allow that, then that is what I would like to do.”
The one-page document, addressed to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel, is handwritten on notebook paper by Roof.
Roof, 22, faces 33 federal charges stemming from the June 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church that left nine black parishioners dead in a Wednesday night Bible study. Officials later confirmed a four-page manifesto posted online before the attack — one detailing racist ideas against African Americans and other groups — was authored by Roof.
Last week, before the questioning of prospective jurors began, Roof asked Gergel if he could represent himself, a motion the judge criticized as “strategically unwise,” but allowed after determining the defendant was competent to make that decision.
Throughout the week of jury questioning, Gergel has repeatedly rebuked Roof ’s former defense attorneys, now in the role of standby counsel, for addressing the court both verbally and in filed motions.
The judge has also urged Roof to reconsider his self-representation decision, indicating he would reinstate the defense team at the defendant’s asking.
Motions in the case are expected to be heard Monday, and it’s unknown if Gergel would be friendly to allowing defense attorneys decision-making power in only one trial phase.
Should Gergel grant Roof ’s motion, it would in the guilt phase avoid a situation where the accused shooter is directly questioning witnesses, including two women who survived.