Had Been Found Guilty of 33 Federal Counts, 18 Carried Death Penalty
The white supremacist convicted of murdering nine African Americans after attending a Bible study class with them in Charleston, South Carolina has been sentenced by a jury to death. Dylann Roof, who had said he wanted to start a race war after being caught by police, earlier today told a jury, “I still feel like I had to do it.”
At 22-years old Roof become first person to be given death penalty for a hate crime.Â
Roof told the jury just hours earlier, “In my confession to the FBI I told them that I had to do it, and obviously that’s not really true. … I didn’t have to do anything,” Roof said. “But what I meant when I said that was, I felt like I had to do it, and I still do feel like I had to do it.”
The jury deliberated for about three hours. They asked the judge at one point if Roof would be considered a danger to other inmates as they were deliberating.
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