In response to Dylann Roof’s new request for a new hearing, a federal judge denied the request. Roof recently struck the death sentence and conviction he received in the fatal shootings of nine members of a South Carolina black church.
A 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals report stated that it will not seek full reinstatement of Roof, citing precedent of the U.S Supreme Court addressing that only judges in regular active service are entitled to request a rehearing.
As Roof’s defence team, we requested that the Circuit Court of Appeals look into our claims regarding his conviction. “The Panel’s verdict is a direct violation of precedent, opening the door to arbitrary death sentences predicated on the value and goodness of the victims,” his attorney argued in court. “The problem is that it validates the value of faith as proof of victims’ worth by validating their dependence on it.”
As part of its July ruling, the court ruled that Roof was competent to stand trial, and upheld his death sentence. Moreover, they rejected his arguments that the judge had overlooked evidence of his supposed mental disorder.
The 2015 murders of nine Black church members in Charleston, South Carolina, were the work of Roof. He told the participants of the slaughter that he was murdering them because “Black people were raping our women and stealing our world”. In February 2005, Roof was executed for 33 charges of federal hate crimes stemming from the slayings, making him the first person to be executed for such crimes in the U.S.
As reported by the Associated Press, Roof has the option to file a 2255 appeal or “have the trial court review the constitutionality of his conviction and sentence” if he loses his direct appeal. Also, convicted killers could petition the Supreme Court or request a presidential pardon.
