Roof gets nine life sentences in state plea deal

Dylann Roof pleaded guilty to nine counts of murder in a South Carolina courtroom today and was sentenced to nine consecutive life sentences. Roof, who murdered nine parishioners attending Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., in June 2015, received a death sentence during his federal trial last year. State prosecutors also sought the death penalty, but agreed to the plea deal to spare the victims’ families the pain of going through another trial. Some survivors said they wanted to see Roof get another death sentence, but Blondelle Gadsden, sister of slain Myra Thompson, said she hoped the killer would repent and find life: “Even though we’re at a point where death has been the sentence for him, my heart still goes out to him in hopes that he would repent to save himself from himself. I can’t think of anything worse that he could do at this point than to not accept Christ and try to make his days on this earth a little bit more peaceful.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.