Roof asks for partial legal defense

The man accused of killing CHARLESTON nine people at a Charleston church has in part reversed course on a decision to represent himself, asking the judge to reinstate defense attorneys in the initial phase of his death penalty 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 then 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, was handwritten on notebook paper.

Roof, 22, faces 33 federal charges stemming from the June 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a nighttime 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 repeatedly rebuked Roof’s former attorneys, now in the role of standby counsel, for addressing the court both verbally and in filed motions. The judge also urged Roof to reconsider his self- representation decision.

Motions in the case are expected to be heard Monday.

Should Gergel grant Roof’s motion, it would avoid a situation where Roof is directly questioning witnesses, including two women who survived.