Dylann Roof, who shot to death nine people in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to all state charges in the killings.
Roof was sentenced to death by a federal jury back in January for the June 2015 massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The deal reached in the Charleston County Courthouse clears the way for his federal imprisonment, on death row, to begin.
"This is the surest way to see that Dylann Roof is executed," said Scarlett A. Wilson, solicitor for the state's Ninth Judicial Circuit. "We hope that today truly will close a chapter for these victims."
The deal means no state trial or sentencing phase will be necessary.
Roof pleaded guilty to nine murder charges, three attempted murder charges, and one weapons charge. He was sentenced to nine consecutive life sentences and three consecutive 30-year sentences.
For me it is impossible to think about this case without feeling a real sense of loss.
Not just over the lives that were lost in the shooting, though of course that's a large part of it, but also over the loss of this young man's life.
I work with troubled kids all of the time, and in all of them there is something worthy that you just have to identify and nurture in order to help them feel connected.
No person is simply evil, there is always something worth saving if only somebody recognizes that and makes the effort.
I have seen the worst kids become the best adults. It can happen.
For some reason Dylann Roof never had anybody to provide that guidance for him and because of that nine innocent people lost their lives. And one guilty one did as well.
I'm against the death penalty. I also get the sense that Dylan Roof WANTS to be executed. If this is true, all the more reason why he shouldn't be killed. Give him life. He's young. He may have 60+ years to reflect on his crime and the fact that he'll never get out of prison.
ReplyDeleteAnd Gryph, if you are correct about there being something redeeming about him, Roof could well end up making something of himself in prison. He could end up setting a powerful example about the dangers of white supremacy to other inmates.
I do not believe in the efficacy of the death penalty. When Rood committed that outrageous crime, he knew what the possible outcome would be. Dylan Roof wants to be a martyr - even if the cause is totally malevolent.
DeleteBeaglemom
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteOT, there is an evil bunny lurking around the WH. Can we say creepy? http://tinyurl.com/l2djq7n
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/us/politics/white-house-easter-egg-roll-trump.html?_r=0
DeleteI am mixed about this. I put value on life. I also want justice for all. In the meantime this young man can receive some form of help at taxpayer expense or a private funded program (maybe fake trump foundation can fund it). I don't know his history or have I seen his background file to determine why or when he became evil. Nobody is born evil, A baby is born innocent. We do not know what happen to him or when. You can bet there are other young people being groomed as he was as we speak. Pay attention.
ReplyDeleteLink please? Some proof would be nice instead of a flat statement.
Deletehttp://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/stunningly-racist-fundraising-email
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up in SC, I can tell you there are lots of people who are SO caught up in the Civil War crap they have NO CONCEPT of what their teachings and actions and promotions are doing to their children.
ReplyDeleteIt MAY NOT have been deliberate, but he WAS taught this garbage. It's like the song from South Pacific, the musical: You have to be carefully taught.
The person I came to learn was evil, a Jekyll Hyde type, certainly was taught, dominated and role modeled that evil is goodness and how to lie undetected to get what you want. Sociopathy, psychopathy and personality disorders can manifest at the hands of a sick and evil parent.
DeleteThere is a culture in the south that produces these kinds of racist bastards. Nothing anyone outside the family could have done would have changed things. I sometimes wonder if it's genetic...
ReplyDeleteAs for simply evil? Haven't you been watching the news? Satan is in the WH.
My brother reread People of the Lie by Scott Peck when Trump was inaugurated.
Deletehttp://www.justice4you.org/recom_people_of_the_lie.php
Delete^EXCERPTS FROM "PEOPLE OF THE LIE"^
"Cedric Anderson, 53, of Riverside, entered the school's front office and checked in, saying he had to drop something off with his estranged wife, Karen Smith" "About 10:27 a.m., Anderson walked into Smith's special education classroom and, without speaking, opened fire, hitting her and two students behind her. Anderson then reloaded and shot himself, Burguan said. Smith, 53, died at the scene. Jonathan Martinez, 8, was airlifted to a hospital and died before entering surgery. A 9-year-old boy was in stable condition at Loma Linda Medical Center on Monday evening." <HE KNEW he had shot two children before he reloaded.
ReplyDelete"Anderson had a criminal history, including weapons charges and "a domestic violence past" that preceded his relationship with Smith. Smith's mother, Irma Sykes, said her daughter and Anderson had been friends for about four years before getting married in January.""had a passion for helping children with autism and learning disabilities."
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/murder-suicide-in-san-bernardino-classroom-he-just-shot-everywhere/
THIS!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/27/russian-parliament-decrimiinalizes-domestic-violence/97129912/
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/11/15257836/gun-domestic-violence-san-bernardino
DeleteDylan Roof is where Track Menard Palin should be, in jail.
ReplyDeleteNo person is simply evil, there is always something worth saving if only somebody recognizes that and makes the effort.
ReplyDeleteOrgan harvesting agents are probably hovering around Roof as we speak.
I feel you, Gryphen. Reading your post, I was struck by how little Roof must consider his life worth if he is willing to give in to execution so readily. I know he may be wanting martyrdom. But he is still so young that I doubt he can truly comprehend the finality of what he is doing. Martyrdom is a romantic notion, just like the damn 69 virgins or whatever for jihad. Teens get caught up in romanticism, not reality. And this stage lasts well into the mid-20s. So, I grieve for the victims, and I count the potential that was Roof as a victim too.
ReplyDeleteOT?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/jeff-sessions-asks-for-gods-blessings-to-help-deport-immigrants-at-border-press-conference/
Is it true he demanded a better haircut on execution day in exchange for the guilty plea?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe in the death penalty because making the state murder a murderer, makes the citizens who support that kind of legislation murderers.
ReplyDelete