Dylann Roof tried to avoid his death sentence by claiming that he was mentally ill at the time he shot up a Black church but a federal appeals court upheld his sentence on Wednesday.
“No cold record or careful parsing of statutes and precedents can capture the full horror of what Roof did. His crimes qualify him for the harshest penalty that a just society can impose,” the court wrote.
ASIAN MAN BRUTALIZES BLACK WOMAN
The 21-year-old white supremacist entered the church on June 17, 2015, and joined a Bible study group and worshipped with them. When they closed their eyes to pray — Roof did something unthinkable.
“Roof then took out his gun and started shooting,” the court said. “Parishioners dove under tables to hide. Roof continued shooting, reloading multiple times. After firing approximately 74 rounds, Roof reached one parishioner who was praying aloud. He told her to ‘shut up’ and then asked if he had shot her yet.”
He left one woman alive so that she could tell the story.