Jury condemns Charleston gunman to death for church massacre

White supremacist Dylann Roof has been sentenced to death for killing nine black churchgoers in 2015, after he expressed no regret for the crime in his final statement

11 January 2017, 8:03am

2 min read

Gunman Dylann Roof remained unrepentant and had told the jury he felt he 'had to do it'

Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who shot to death nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, US, has been sentenced to death by a federal jury.

Roof, who was convicted last month of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes resulting in death, was condemned to death on Tuesday by a unanimous jury after about three hours of deliberations.

Roof reportedly showed no emotion as the verdict was read out. He is the first person to get the death penalty for federal hate crimes.

Earlier on Tuesday, the 22-year-old, who represented himself for the penalty phase, was unrepentant during his closing argument. He told jurors he still felt the massacre was something he had to do and did not ask that his life be spared.

"I still feel like I had to do it. I have the right to ask you to give me a life sentence, but I'm not sure what good it would do anyway,” he said.

The attacker specifically picked out Emanuel AME Church, the South's oldest black church, to carry out the massacre, Assistant US Attorney Jay Richardson said.

On 17 June 2015, Roof sat for 40 minutes with parishioners gathered for a Bible study meeting before opening fire as they closed their eyes to pray, Richardson said.

Roof pulled the trigger 75 times as he methodically killed Hurd, 54; Clementa Pinckney, 41, the church’s pastor and a state senator; DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49; Sharonda Coleman Singleton, 45; Susie Jackson, 87; Ethel Lance, 70; Myra Thompson, 59; Daniel Simmons Sr., 74; and Tywanza Sanders, 26.

Roof stood over some of the fallen victims, shooting them again as they lay on the floor, Richardson said.

Roof did not explain his actions to jurors, saying only that "anyone who hates anything in their mind has a good reason for it".

In his FBI confession, Roof said he hoped the massacre would bring back segregation or start a race war.

In notes confiscated from Roof in prison in August 2015, he wrote that he was "not sorry".

"I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed," the notes said.