Dylann Roof, 22, has been sentenced to death for killing nine black churchgoers during a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina.
The jury's decision had to be unanimous to sentence Roof to death. This
is the first time a death penalty verdict was rendered in a federal hate
crimes case, the Justice Department said.
The jury began deliberating Roof's fate earlier today, after Roof told
the jury in a closing statement, "I still feel like I had to do it."
The verdict comes at the end of the federal death penalty case in which
he was convicted of hate crimes resulting in death, among other charges.
Roof also faces a state trial in which he may again face the death
penalty.
Melvin Graham, brother of slain churchgoer Cynthia Hurd, said after the sentence was read, "Today we had justice for my sister."
But he called Roof's sentence a "very hollow victory because my sister's
still gone. I wish that this verdict could have brought her back."
Graham said he supported the death penalty in this case, calling Roof's
crimes "executions." He added that Roof took nine lives in a brutal
fashion with no remorse.
"It's a hard thing to know that someone's going to lose their life,"
Graham said of Roof. "But when you look at the totality of what
happened, it's hard to say that this person deserves to live."
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Roof's family said in a statement, "We will always love Dylann. We will
struggle as long as we live to understand why he committed this horrible
attack, which caused so much pain to so many good people. We wish to
express the grief we feel for the victims of his crimes, and our
sympathy to the many families he has hurt. We continue to pray for the
Emanuel AME families and the Charleston community."
Roof's defense said in a statement that the "sentencing decision means
that this case will not be over for a very long time. We are sorry that,
despite our best efforts, the legal proceedings have shed so little
light on the reasons for this tragedy."
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| Victims |
The defense added that they express sympathy "to all of the families who were so grievously hurt by Dylann Roof’s actions."
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement, "Roof sought out and
opened fire on African-American parishioners engaged in worship. ... He
did so because of their race. And he did so to interfere with their
peaceful exercise of religion. The victims in the case led lives as
compassionate civic and religious leaders; devoted public servants and
teachers; and beloved family members and friends.
Abc News
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