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.

[HairOfTheDog]

Jury selection is currently underway in Charleston, South Carolina.

It's more intensive because the jurors need to be willing and able to hand down a death sentence if the evidence presented so warrants it. The jury will be made up of 12 jurors and 6 alternate jurors.

Testimony in the trial is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Dec. 7. No change of venue was requested.

Ref:
http://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime...25843.html
http://www.westernjournalism.com/here-ar...ning-fire/

[Duchess]

Whatta waste of money & resources.

[HairOfTheDog]

Whatta waste of money & resources.

Yeah, it's gonna cost a fortune to try this case. No doubt about it. On top of that, there's the cost of his incarceration before, during, and after the trial. Plus, it will cost more $$$$ to go through the automatic appeals process if he's convicted of capital murder. All tolled, it's a multi-million dollar price tag.

Dylann Roof, of course, deserves due process under the law, even though he's a piece of shit and whether or not he killed the nine church members is not in dispute.

While I don't care if he lives or dies, I've really grown colder about the death penalty over the last few years considering the cost of it and other factors discussed previously.

I'd rather have seen Roof plead guilty in exchange for 9 life sentences and no trial. In this case, the victims' family members likely would have been agreeable to that. Many of them are very devout and declared that they forgave him within days of his arrest (though they want justice for their loved ones).

I think Roof actually did offer to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, but the federal prosecutors turned the offer down.

[Maggot]

I wish he had been shot dead at the scene.

[HairOfTheDog]

I wish he had been shot dead at the scene.

Well.........if F.U. or Six had seen him do this, maybe the mad beatdown they would have put on him could have knocked some sense into the hateful little dipshit! ')



P.s. I hope you're feeling better, Mags.

[HairOfTheDog]

Federal Trial Underway -- Jury Selected and Opening Statements Delivered

--Dylann Roof, 22, is facing 33 federal charges including hate crimes and firearms

--Twelve jurors were chosen today, nine white and three black - with two of six alternates black

--Roof's lawyers offered several times to plead guilty if federal prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty - they refused

--Paramedics had to be called to the courtroom after opening statements to give medical assistance to an emotional woman believed to be a potential witness

--Roof's lawyer admitted 'there's not a great deal of dispute about the facts at this point,' but is arguing for a life sentence over the death penalty

--The shooter left behind a journal with his desires of a race war, including Nazi symbols, as well as a ranting, racist manifesto on the internet - he was set off about by the Trayvon Martin case and was convinced that George Zimmerman was right; he went on to become a White Supremacist and claimed that 'niggers' and 'negroes' were of lower IQ and higher testosterone and were a threat to the superior white race

--He'd called for a new civil war in America before staging his massacre

--Roof continues to serve as his own primary defense attorney


Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...begin.html

[BigMark]

GIFSoup

[BlueTiki]

--Roof continues to serve as his own primary defense attorney

I thought he went back to judge and begged to be represented . . . after discovering how damn difficult it was for a member of the "master race" to navigate through legal minutiae.

I believe he will only be representing himself (at this point in time) during the penalty phase of the trial.

[HairOfTheDog]

Roof did in fact ask the judge to let his defense counsel take over again, but to the best of my knowledge, the judge has only stipulated that they can intervene when Roof specifically asks them to do so. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/accused-charle...49999.html

The judge may have since changed his mind, Tiki. If so, I haven't seen that update.

[Midwest Spy]

Just a complete coward.

Here's an instance where I'd love to see the execution broadcast.

He's going to be so freaking scared as he takes that last walk, and is secured to the table.

The real irony will be that his victims, if alive, would probably say "forgive and forget", most likely willing to set him free.

It's very difficult as a Christian to support the death penalty.

Hatred and anger are easy to call upon, and wishing someone a heinous death is easy.

Very conflicting.

[HairOfTheDog]

I understand the conflict and I understand your other points too, MS.

I don't know if Roof will be scared when he's about to be executed if he gets the death penalty though.

It would be, at minimum, a few years between conviction and execution. Some of the cowardly criminals we've covered in THE DEATH PENALTY thread don't even want to go through the mandatory appeals process and want to be executed as soon as possible. They're not afraid of death.

Others have been on death row so long that they've made peace with being executed long before the day comes (whether they've found Jesus or not).

[HairOfTheDog]

--Roof continues to serve as his own primary defense attorney

I thought he went back to judge and begged to be represented . . . after discovering how damn difficult it was for a member of the "master race" to navigate through legal minutiae.

I believe he will only be representing himself (at this point in time) during the penalty phase of the trial.

You're right, Tiki.

In this write-up of today's court proceedings, Defense Attorney Bruck told the jury that he will be acting as a member of Roof's court-appointed defense team, but Roof will 'jettison' them when the trial goes to phase 2 (penalty).

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/dyl....html?_r=0

[HairOfTheDog]

Testimony Continues

Thus far, jurors have seen the racist journals and pictures of Dylann Roof, viewed the video of Roof entering and exiting the church, and heard the testimony of witnesses and authorities as the prosecution laid out its case.

Surveillance video from the day of the attack in June 2015 showed people walking into the church. Then, in walks Roof at 8:16 pm, carrying a 45 Glock pistol and seven magazines. Once inside, he opened fire as the faithful rose and closed their eyes to pray. Roof existed the church at 9:06 p.m.

Prosecutors presented evidence showing that Roof meticulously prepared for the shootings. He carried eight magazines that could each hold 13 rounds, but loaded only 11 each so that he could shoot 88 times. That’s a revered number among white supremacists, standing for “Heil Hitler” because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.

During interrogation, Roof told investigators he had planned to kill himself after the shootings. But, since no police descended upon him, he just left instead. There is no indication he'd listened to news of the shootings before he was apprehended and arrested in North Carolina the next day.

In Roof’s confession video, an FBI agent asked Roof, “Why did you do it?” Roof said, “I had to do it because somebody had to. Blacks are raping and killing white people on the streets every day... What I did is still minuscule to what they’re doing to white people every day.”

(continued)

[HairOfTheDog]

Along with the overt racism, Roof’s confession and notes show the then-21-year-old as naive and immature. He wrote a note apologizing to his mother and saying “as childish as it sounds, I wish I was in your arms.” At one point, an agent asked if Roof had thought about killing more blacks. “Oh, no. I was worn out,” Roof said.

Justin Britt, a Richland County sheriff’s deputy, testified that Roof’s mother collapsed when authorities came to her home the day after the shootings and started asking questions about her son. After recovering, Britt said Roof’s mother led him to her son’s bedroom, where she showed him a digital camera on which Britt said he saw pictures of Roof with a Confederate flag. “She said, ‘There’s something that I think you need to see,’” Britt testified.

Another officer who helped search the home testified she recovered dozens of spent ammunition rounds, saying relatives told her Roof and others would practice shooting in a nearby wooded area. Kristen Polis also testified she photographed a white pillowcase cut into a triangle because “to me, it represents what could be a Ku Klux Klan hood.”

Witness testimony is expected to wrap up Wednesday, with the government calling a medical examiner to discuss details of the victims’ injuries. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson opened his case with Felicia Sanders, a survivor of the June 2015 shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. He has said he plans to close with testimony of another survivor, Polly Sheppard.

Defense attorney David Bruck, who has previously said he might not call any witnesses, said Tuesday he would likely call some after all.

If Roof is convicted, jurors would decide if he should be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. While he has a defense team at the moment, Roof has said he wants to be his own lawyer for the penalty phase.

Roof’s lawyers have conceded that he carried out the attack, and are focused on persuading jurors to spare his life in the penalty phase of the trial.

Ref: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dylann-roof-...e-actions/

[Maggot]

He should be put in a room and told someone will burst in at some point and shoot him in the head. Then burst in and say "OOps not right now" then do that a few times over a weeks time until finally dragging him off and injecting him with battery acid.

[HairOfTheDog]

Closing Arguments Tomorrow

Final witness testimony was given today.

A survivor of the Charleston church slayings called 911 shortly after Dylann Roof opened fire and killed nine of her friends during a Bible study. Polly Sheppard’s call, played for jurors on Wednesday, starts with a prayer and a plea for help: “Please answer. Oh, God.”

When the recording ended, Sheppard staggered from the witness stand and several family members rushed to help her down the aisle and out of the courtroom as she stared blankly ahead.

Prosecutors rested their case in Roof’s federal death penalty trial and his lawyers called no witnesses after the judge ruled that mental health experts, job applications and his academic record were irrelevant to whether Roof is guilty of attacking the church. Roof’s attorneys have largely conceded there is no disputing the facts of the case and have instead tried to focus on whether he should face the death penalty or life in prison.

Sheppard recalled what happened June 17, 2015, when Roof came into Wednesday night Bible study, took the lesson from the church’s pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, and sat down beside him quietly for 45 minutes. Her voice filled with sadness, unlike the prosecution’s opening witness -- the only other adult survivor Felicia Sanders -- whose voice had both sorrow and anger as she ended her testimony saying Roof deserved to be in the pit of hell.

Sheppard said she dove under a table when the first shots were fired. She heard boom after boom and watched shells fall to the floor as Roof’s black boots inched closer and closer. She prayed out loud. Roof stopped, pointed his .45-calibur Glock at her and told her to shut up, she said.

Roof asked if he had shot her yet. Sheppard said no. Roof said he wanted to leave her alive to tell the world why he attacked a historic African-American church.

“I have to. I have to,” Sheppard recalled Roof telling her. “You’re raping our women and taking over the nation.”

Roof then moved away. Sheppard grabbed Lance’s cellphone that tumbled near her and called 911. In between telling the operator what she knew, Sheppard prayed. “Help us, Lord. Please help us, Lord. Please Jesus, help us.”

Sheppard’s 911 call was the final evidence jurors heard before closing arguments Thursday morning.

[HairOfTheDog]

Roof’s defense lawyers wanted to tell jurors about a hodgepodge of records that they said would define Roof’s mental state before the shootings. But U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said since Roof was not judged insane at the time of the crime, his mental state had nothing to do with whether he was guilty.

The judge said that Roof can present evidence of his mental state during the penalty phase, if the jury finds him guilty. But, it appears does not want such information presented and that's the driving reason he is representing himself during the penalty trial.

The Defense called no witnesses.

If the jury finds Roof guilty, those same jurors will return Jan. 3 to decide if he is put to death or gets life in prison.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dylann-roof-...witnesses/

[Duchess]

I wouldn't care if they took that kid out behind the courthouse and put a bullet in him but that would set a horrible precedent and that's something I do care about.

[HairOfTheDog]

The federal jury found Dylann Roof guilty of all charges after only a couple of hours of deliberation.

No surprise there though -- they had a confession and no defense witnesses to consider.

The interesting part of the trial is Phase 2, the penalty portion. It starts on January 3^rd and Roof will be representing himself. The same jury from Phase 1 will hear testimony and decide whether Roof is sentenced to life in prison or death.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/us/dyl....html?_r=1