But perhaps most important is what he didn’t say: He didn’t ask jurors to spare him from the death penalty. The jury last month unanimously found Roof guilty of hate crimes and other charges in the shooting deaths of nine black church members during Bible study. The jurors will now decide whether he should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
“My opening statement is going to seem a little bit out of place,” the soft-spoken 22-year-old white man said calmly as he stood in front of a podium, occasionally glancing at notes. “I am not going to lie to you. … Other than the fact that I trust people that I shouldn’t and the fact that I’m probably better at constantly embarrassing myself than anyone who’s ever existed, there’s nothing wrong with me psychologically.”
Roof’s attorneys have indicated that he chose to represent himself during the sentencing phase of his trial because he was worried they might present embarrassing evidence about himself or his family. As early as last summer, they said they had planned to introduce evidence that Roof suffers from mental illness. Since then, many motions have been filed under seal, purportedly to conceal sensitive information, but it’s likely more details on what lawyers wanted to present.
It’s clear, from his own writings, Roof doesn’t believe in psychology. In a journal read in court during his trial, Roof called the specialty “a Jewish invention” that “does nothing but invent diseases and tell people they have problems when they don’t.”
Prosecutors said Roof deserves the death penalty because he painstakingly chose to target vulnerable people during Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in June 2015. Roof sat with the church members for about 45 minutes and waited until their eyes were closed before opening fire. He told Polly Sheppard, one of the three survivors, that he wanted to leave her alive to tell the world why he attacked a historic African-American church. He said “you’re raping our women and taking over the nation.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams said the “horrific acts justify the death penalty.”
“He killed nine people. … He killed them because of the color of their skin. He killed them because they were less than people,” Williams said.
Prosecutors plan to call up to 38 people related to the slain and the survivors. Williams told jurors they would hear extensive testimony about the nine victims, including pastor and state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, a “prodigy of the ministry” who was a man of faith, service and family dedication.
“This will be heartbreaking,” Williams said.