A jury on Thursday found Dylann Roof guilty of gunning down nine worshippers as they prayed in a historic black church in Charleston in June 2015.
Roof, 22, faces the death penalty in the June 17, 2015, massacre during a Bible study session at Emanuel AME Church, the oldest black church in the South. The self-proclaimed white nationalist has opted to defend himself in his federal trial’s penalty phase, scheduled to begin on Jan. 3.
The Post and Courier reported that Roof was found guilty of all 33 charges, which included 12 hate crimes for the nine people killed and the three survivors, 12 charges of obstruction of religion and nine counts of using a firearm to kill.
The charges carrying the death penalty are the nine obstruction of religion charges involving those killed in the massacre, the newspaper reported. The jury was comprised of eight white women, two black women, one black man and one white man.
A reporter in the courtroom tweeted that Roof showed no emotion when the verdict was read.
The guilty verdicts come after a week-and-a-half of testimony in the case. It took the jurors just over two hours to reach their decision.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams told jurors during closing arguments Thursday morning that Roof was a coward acting on a "cold, calculated hatred" for black people when he chose some of the most vulnerable to gun down as they closed their eyes to pray, the Post and Courier reported. He pointed out that the church members, led by the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, welcomed Roof into their church before he turned on them, unleashing a barrage of more than 70 bullets from the .45-caliber Glock he brought into their house of worship.
Testimony during the trial showed that a total of 60 rounds found their mark.
Williams showed jurors crime scene photos of each victim, their bodies riddled with bullet wounds, the newspaper reported. He juxtaposed those grisly images with smiling portraits of each victim as he walked the courtroom through how each died.
Pinckney, Williams said, “pulled out a chair for (Roof) and he was executed while his family sat on the other side of that wall.” The pastor’s wife and children were safe in the church’s office during the shooting.
The prosecutor also focused on the heroism of the victims, particularly Tywanza Sanders, who tried to reason with Roof even after he’d been shot. Sanders told Roof, “We mean you no harm,” before Roof shot him five more times, the paper reported.
Still alive, Sanders attempted to crawl to his great-aunt, Susie Jackson, who had been shot at least 10 times. The Post and Courier reported that law enforcement officials testified Sanders died with his hand touching the elderly woman's hair.
Sanders’ mother, Felicia Sanders, used her own body as a shield to protect her 11-year-old granddaughter, Williams said. Felicia Sanders and the little girl were two of only three survivors inside the fellowship hall that night.
The Post and Courier said that Williams also pointed out the bravery of the Rev. Daniel Simmons, who was killed as he tried to help Pinckney, the first to be shot by Roof.
Roof claimed in his confession to police that he committed the massacre because no one else was brave enough to do it, Williams said. In his statement, Roof said, “Somebody had to do something, because, you know, black people are killing white people every day on the street and they’re raping white women.”
"The defendant has no claim to bravery," Williams said in his closing argument. "But you have heard of bravery in this case."
Roof’s defense attorney, David Bruck, told jurors that the main issue in the trial has never been whether or not his client committed the crime.
"The issue in this case from the beginning and continues to be why?" Bruck said, according to the newspaper.
Bruck argued that Roof’s dedication to conspiracy theories and a so-called “battle” between the races raised questions about his state of mind. The defense lawyer danced around possible psychiatric issues in his client, a defense that, during the trial, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Gergel repeatedly shot down.
Gergel reminded Bruck that mental issues could only be brought up during the penalty phase of the case. Since Roof plans to represent himself during that portion of the trial, Bruck will only have an advisory role at that point.
“There is hatred all right, and certainly racism, but it goes a lot further than that,” Bruck told jurors during his closing. “What could have left him so convinced that he was required not only to take the lives of innocent people, but to also sacrifice himself?”
Testimony during the trial indicated that Roof planned to take his own life. Among the items found in his car after his capture in North Carolina the day after the shooting were letters to both of his parents.
Bruck described Roof as a lonely man who was radicalized by content he found on the internet, the Post and Courier said.
“Every bit of motivation came from things he saw on the internet. That’s it,” Bruck said. “He is simply regurgitating, in whole paragraphs, slogans and facts. Bits and pieces of facts that he downloaded from the internet directly into his brain.”
Bruck said that several bits of evidence show there is “something wrong” with Roof’s perception of reality. As an example, he pointed out that Roof misjudged the amount of time he sat through the Bible study session that night, as well as the number of people in the room and the number he had shot.
Roof told investigators in his confession that he estimated he'd shot four or five people, and seemed surprised to learn he’d killed nine people. He asked FBI agents if they were lying to him, saying he didn’t think there were even nine people in the room with him.
He also said he’d sat with the victims for about 15 minutes, when surveillance video from outside the church showed he’d been inside for nearly an hour.
“I ask you, does this make sense, or is there something more to this story?” Bruck asked jurors.
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