A step closer to hell
CHURCH KILLER GUILTY, COULD GET DEATH
DYLANN ROOF, convicted Thursday of killing nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church, is one step closer to hell.
A jury found Roof guilty on all counts after two hours of deliberations. He stood with his arms by his side, staring straight ahead as “guilty” was read aloud 33 times.
Relatives of victims held hands and squeezed one another’s arms. One woman nodded her head every time the clerk said “guilty.”
The jury will return on Jan. 3 to determine whether Roof should be put to death for committing a hate crime and other charges — a proceeding in which he plans to represent himself.
Roof, 22, confessed to targeting the Bible study group at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on June 17, 2015, because they would pose little danger to him. He had researched the history of the storied black church where Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke.
The killer was full of hate and “immense racial ignorance,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams said in his closing remarks.
“There is no bravery in this defendant. There is no bravery in his actions,” he said, according to local news station WIS10. “These nine people exemplified a goodness that was greater than his message of hate.”
Roof hoped the 77 bullets he fired would be the opening salvo in a race war leading to the return of segregation.
But instead, the Confederate flag — featured in many of the disturbing photos Roof snapped of himself before the killings — was removed from the South Carolina statehouse after 50 years.
Defense attorney David Bruck hinted in his remarks that Roof was mentally ill.
“There is something wrong with his perceptions,” Bruck said.
Roof’s mental state will likely be featured prominently during the sentencing phase of the trial. His lawyers said in a court filing they fear Roof wants to avoid embarrassing testimony the defense might have presented to convince a jury to spare his life.
Relatives of the victims hailed the verdict.
“Racism, discrimination and hatred was put on trial in Charleston and lost 33 times,” said Malcolm Graham, a former North Carolina state senator whose sister, Cynthia Hurd, was killed by Roof.
He tweeted that his sister was an “Emanuel AME Hero.”
Prosecutors introduced mountains of evidence against Roof over six days of testimony, including video of his two-hour confession to investigators and his racist manifesto.
“I went to that church in Charleston and I did it,” Roof said. “Somebody had to do it.”
Roof said he self-radicalized after George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in 2012.
“Black people are killing white people everyday. What I did is so minuscule compared to what they do to white people every day,” he said.
He loaded eight clips with 88 bullets before joining the Bible study group.
“He walked into the church with murder in his heart,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Curran said.
The grace of the victims’ families and two adult survivors — many of whom forgave Roof — inspired President Obama to deliver one of the most powerful speeches of his presidency.
“For too long, we’ve been blind to the way past injustices continue to shape the present,” Obama said.