Court upholds church shooter’s death sentence

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected arguments that Dylann Roof had been incompetent to stand trial over the 2015 killings of nine black church members at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Roof, who was 21 at the time, opened fire during the closing prayer of a Bible study session inside the church. The three-judge panel said the legal record does not capture the “full horror” of Roof’s offense.

What was his appeal? Roof became the first person sentenced to death in the United States for a federal hate crime in 2017. He appealed his death sentence and convictions in January 2020, citing schizophrenia and other psychological illnesses. His attorneys argued he was wrongly allowed to represent himself during his sentencing and called for his case to receive a “proper competency evaluation.” They have not said whether they would pursue other appeals.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archive, read Dick Peterson’s report on the aftermath of the slayings on the Charleston community.