THE TRIAL OF DYLANN ROOF

[HairOfTheDog]

As covered in the "ANOTHER PUBLIC SHOOTING" thread, on June 17, 2015 Dylann Roof shot and killed nine parishioners (pictured above) at the Emanuel AME Church after being welcomed to attend the sermon with them for an hour.

Before he started shooting, multiple witnesses reported him declaring, "I am here to shoot black people. You rape our women, and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”

Dylann Roof, now 22, was arrested in North Carolina the next day.

Roof is charged with nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He also faces federal hate crime charges, for which he faces the death penalty.

He was declared competent to stand trial and his request to serve as his own attorney was granted by the judge, though his former defense attorneys are now asking the judge to let them be more involved than 'stand by'. The judge has so far denied that request; the judge had already warned Roof and the defense team against Roof representing himself when they first petitioned for it.