Dylann Roof’s death sentence upheld
A federal court has upheld the death sentence of Dylann Roof, who massacred 9 people at a South Carolina church frequented by black people in 2015, saying he could not express the “absolute horror” of the crime.
The 3 judges on the Richmond Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled unanimously.
Roof, who was 21 at the time, stormed into Our Lady of Emmanuel Church in Charleston on June 17, 2015, as a group of people were beginning to close prayers for his religious studies class and opened fire.
In 2017, Roof became the 1st person in the United States to be sentenced to death for a federal hate crime.
On appeal, attorneys argued that Roof was mistakenly allowed to defend himself during a key stage of sentencing proceedings.
The defendant managed to keep his mental health file private, “under the misconception,” the lawyers argue, “that he would have been rescued from prison by white nationalists, but curiously if he had hidden his mental illness.” .
The lawyers insisted that the conviction and death sentence should be overturned or, in any case, a new trial should be started “after a full psychiatric evaluation”.
The 3-judge panel concluded that the judge did not make a wrong decision in determining that Roof was eligible to stand trial and strongly condemned the criminal conduct.
“Dylann Roof killed African-Americans in his church who were praying and studying the Bible. They welcomed him with open arms. His whole purpose in doing this was not only to scare his immediate victims… but also to inform everyone who knew about the Holocaust,” the panel said.
“No cold narrative or detailed breakdown of criteria and context can express what Roof did. His crimes deserve the harshest punishment a harsh society can give,” they added.
An attorney for Roof, public defender Margaret Alice-Anne Farrand, declined to comment on the decision.
Following the federal trial, Roof was sentenced to nine consecutive life terms after pleading guilty to statewide murder in 2017, where he will be executed in federal prison.
But last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland suspended all federal executions while his office reassessed policy and procedures for the death penalty.
(source: en.memesrandom.com)
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