Jury Convicts Dylann Roof of Murderous South Carolina Rampage
Dylann Storm Roof, indoctrinated in online hate and racism, was convicted today聽in Charleston, S.C., of a murderous gun rampage in 2015 that left nine people dead at a historic African-American church.聽The racially motivated killing spree jarred the nation.
The federal jury deliberated for nearly two hours before returning its unanimous verdict 鈥撯�撀爋ne that was expected after Roof,聽22,聽聽confessed to the killing聽 after he was arrested in Shelby, N.C., just 17 hours after the shootings.聽In his聽writings and confession to investigators, Roof said he hoped killing innocent church-goers聽would 鈥渟tart a race war."
Roof聽was charged with 33 federal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death.聽His case was taken to jury trial after the U.S. Department of Justice rejected his offer to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.聽The jury, which began deliberating today,聽asked to again watch Roof鈥檚 video taped confession.聽
The jury is scheduled to reconvene on聽Jan. 3 to聽determine whether Roof should face the death penalty.聽Roof, who did not testify in his own defense during the trial, has said he wants to act as his own attorney during the penalty phase.
In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams summarized testimony and evidence, telling jurors that Roof, who was 21 at the time of the killings, walked into Charleston鈥檚 Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015, and unleashed 鈥渃old, calculated hatred鈥� on the nine black worshipers gathered for Bible study.
Roof told investigators that he deliberately targeted the church because of its predominately black congregation, hoping to make a statement about what he perceived as injustices associated with black-on-white crimes 鈥撯�� a false narrative 聽propagated by groups such as the Council of Conservative Citizens (颁颁颁).听
On that day in June, Roof was was welcomed into the Bible study group by members who were unaware that he was armed with a .45 caliber Glock handgun and several magazines loaded with hollow-point bullets. As the parishioners closed their eyes for prayer shortly after 9 p.m., Roof began his rampage, seeking out the most-vulnerable and shooting them again and again on the floor as they cowered under tables, the聽 newspaper reported.
In his own manifesto, Roof claimed to have been radicalized into white nationalism after聽reading the CCC's website.聽The group,聽 the modern reincarnation of the old White Citizens Councils,聽says its mission is to educate white people about what it sees as an epidemic of black-on-white crime in the United States.聽Roof bought into that philosophy, he told FBI agents just hours after his arrest in a videotaped confession played for the jury.
鈥淲ell,聽I had to do it because somebody had to do something because, you know, black people are killing white people every day on the streets, and they rape white women, 100 white women a day,鈥� Roof told the agents in a video taped interview with investigators shown during the trial.聽鈥淭he fact of the matter is what I did is so minuscule to what they鈥檙e doing to white people every day, all the time.鈥�
