A federal appeals court has upheld the death sentence of Dylann Roof: a white man convicted of the mass shooting of black members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Roof, 27, sought to appeal his conviction to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which concluded that even the most «careful analysis of the law and precedents cannot convey the full horror of what Roof did.»
“His crimes deserve the most severe punishment that a just society can impose.”
The court recalled the crimes of the man who, on June 17, 2015, as a 21-year-old white supremacist, entered to church and joined a Bible study group.
According to the court, «the congregation greeted Roof by handing him a Bible» and he spent the next 45 minutes praying with those present — but then pulled out a gun and opened fire.
«After firing approximately 74 shots, Roof approached one of the parishioners who was praying loudly. He told her to «shut up» and then asked if he had shot her yet.
According to court records, Roof told her, «I won't hurt you so you can tell this story.»
The man killed nine people: Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Cynthia Heard, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Reverend Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Reverend Daniel Simmons Sr. and Reverend Myra Thompson.
Roof, who was convicted of murder and other crimes, including nine counts of racially motivated hate crimes, was sentenced to death in early 2017.
The shooter contested the appeal competency, alleged errors in the sentencing phase, and argued that some of the charging statutes may have been unconstitutional.
