SOUTH CAROLINA, United States (AFP) — Jurors in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday (December 15) found white supremacist Dylann Roof guilty of 33 counts of federal hate crimes in a shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina that left nine people dead.
Federal prosecutors had told the jury that Roof was driven by racial hatred when he gunned down members of the church during a Bible study, after months of meticulous planning, a federal prosecutor argued before jurors began deliberating on Thursday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams’ voice rose as he criticized the young man’s self-proclaimed bravery in carrying out the attack during Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015.
Williams said the government had proved the defendant’s guilt “beyond any doubt, much less reasonable doubt.”
Jurors, who heard six days of testimony, will weigh the 22-year-old’s guilt on 33 charges of federal hate crimes resulting in death, obstruction of religion and firearms violations.
Roof also is due to stand trial next year on state murder charges.
Defense lawyer David Bruck conceded the horror of the massacre but suggested Roof’s hatred was “just an imitation” of white supremacist website content that had an outsized effect on an impressionable young man.
The attorney told jurors more explanation was needed to understand what pushed Roof to act in the way he did.
Bruck’s closing argument could be the last time Roof’s lawyers address jurors. Roof has indicated he wants to serve as his own lawyer during the penalty phase of his trial, where prosecutors plan to pursue a death sentence should he be convicted.
