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| Dylann Roof, Addressing Court, Offers No Apology or Explanation for Massacre | Dylann Roof, Addressing Court, Offers No Apology or Explanation for Massacre |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sometime in the six weeks after he killed nine people at this city’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Dylann S. Roof wrote in a journal that he had “not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.” On Wednesday morning, standing before the jurors who will decide whether he should be put to death, Mr. Roof again offered no apology or explanation for the massacre. | CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sometime in the six weeks after he killed nine people at this city’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Dylann S. Roof wrote in a journal that he had “not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.” On Wednesday morning, standing before the jurors who will decide whether he should be put to death, Mr. Roof again offered no apology or explanation for the massacre. |
| “There’s nothing wrong with me psychologically,” Mr. Roof, who is representing himself during the penalty phase of his trial in Federal District Court, told the jury of 10 women and two men during a strikingly brief opening statement. | “There’s nothing wrong with me psychologically,” Mr. Roof, who is representing himself during the penalty phase of his trial in Federal District Court, told the jury of 10 women and two men during a strikingly brief opening statement. |
| By then, Courtroom No. 6 had already been jarred by Mr. Roof’s journal, which amounted to a post-arrest manifesto of white supremacy. | By then, Courtroom No. 6 had already been jarred by Mr. Roof’s journal, which amounted to a post-arrest manifesto of white supremacy. |
| “I would like to make it crystal clear I do not regret what I did,” Mr. Roof wrote in the jailhouse journal, which officials seized in August 2015. “I am not sorry. I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.” | “I would like to make it crystal clear I do not regret what I did,” Mr. Roof wrote in the jailhouse journal, which officials seized in August 2015. “I am not sorry. I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.” |
| Mr. Roof, who was then 21, continued: “I do feel sorry for the innocent white children forced to live in this sick country and I do feel sorry for the innocent white people that are killed daily at the hands of the lower race. I have shed a tear of self-pity for myself. I feel pity that I had to do what I did in the first place. I feel pity that I had to give up my life because of a situation that should never have existed.” | Mr. Roof, who was then 21, continued: “I do feel sorry for the innocent white children forced to live in this sick country and I do feel sorry for the innocent white people that are killed daily at the hands of the lower race. I have shed a tear of self-pity for myself. I feel pity that I had to do what I did in the first place. I feel pity that I had to give up my life because of a situation that should never have existed.” |
| The federal prosecutor who read from the journal, Nathan S. Williams, told jurors in the government’s opening statement that Mr. Roof had embarked on a premeditated killing spree that merited the death penalty. | The federal prosecutor who read from the journal, Nathan S. Williams, told jurors in the government’s opening statement that Mr. Roof had embarked on a premeditated killing spree that merited the death penalty. |
| “The defendant didn’t stop after shooting one person or two or four or five; he killed nine people,” Mr. Williams said, a few moments before he flatly declared: “The death penalty is justified.” | “The defendant didn’t stop after shooting one person or two or four or five; he killed nine people,” Mr. Williams said, a few moments before he flatly declared: “The death penalty is justified.” |
| The introduction of the journal, coupled with Mr. Roof’s opening statement, was a startling beginning to the trial’s sentencing phase, which is expected to run into next week. Although many people in the courtroom had already heard Mr. Roof’s raspy, Southern-inflected voice during the guilt phase of his trial when prosecutors played a video recording of his confession to the F.B.I., and in brief comments during jury selection and procedural matters, his opening statement on Wednesday was the first time he directly addressed jurors at trial. | The introduction of the journal, coupled with Mr. Roof’s opening statement, was a startling beginning to the trial’s sentencing phase, which is expected to run into next week. Although many people in the courtroom had already heard Mr. Roof’s raspy, Southern-inflected voice during the guilt phase of his trial when prosecutors played a video recording of his confession to the F.B.I., and in brief comments during jury selection and procedural matters, his opening statement on Wednesday was the first time he directly addressed jurors at trial. |
| Mr. Roof, 22, announced at a pretrial hearing last week that he would present an opening statement, but until he spoke on Wednesday, no one was certain of what he would say. A monologue of white supremacist rhetoric? An apology for the horrific massacre during a Bible study session in the historic church’s fellowship hall on June 17, 2015? Perhaps even an explicit request for a death sentence? | Mr. Roof, 22, announced at a pretrial hearing last week that he would present an opening statement, but until he spoke on Wednesday, no one was certain of what he would say. A monologue of white supremacist rhetoric? An apology for the horrific massacre during a Bible study session in the historic church’s fellowship hall on June 17, 2015? Perhaps even an explicit request for a death sentence? |
| In the end, he chose a different path: a repeated insistence that he was not mentally impaired and that his court-appointed lawyers would have been deceiving jurors if they had mounted such a defense. | |
| “The point is that I’m not going to lie to you, not by myself or through somebody else,” said Mr. Roof, who spoke from a lectern as several women left the courtroom, one of them muttering curses. Mr. Roof’s grandparents watched from the second row. | “The point is that I’m not going to lie to you, not by myself or through somebody else,” said Mr. Roof, who spoke from a lectern as several women left the courtroom, one of them muttering curses. Mr. Roof’s grandparents watched from the second row. |
| In many ways, the argument by Mr. Roof, who on Monday was deemed competent to face sentencing, was unsurprising. In a handwritten court filing a day after the jury found him guilty of 33 counts, including 18 that carry the death penalty, Mr. Roof said he would “not be calling mental health experts or presenting mental health evidence.” | In many ways, the argument by Mr. Roof, who on Monday was deemed competent to face sentencing, was unsurprising. In a handwritten court filing a day after the jury found him guilty of 33 counts, including 18 that carry the death penalty, Mr. Roof said he would “not be calling mental health experts or presenting mental health evidence.” |
| In fact, beyond his words to the jury, Mr. Roof plans to offer no evidence, mitigating or otherwise. He told Judge Richard M. Gergel last week that he did not intend to call any witnesses. | In fact, beyond his words to the jury, Mr. Roof plans to offer no evidence, mitigating or otherwise. He told Judge Richard M. Gergel last week that he did not intend to call any witnesses. |
| His minimalist approach stands in sharp contrast to the strategy of Justice Department officials, who could call more than 30 witnesses to try to depict Mr. Roof as callous and premeditating and, as Mr. Williams argued in court last month, “a man who is proven to be a coward and a man of immense racial hatred.” | His minimalist approach stands in sharp contrast to the strategy of Justice Department officials, who could call more than 30 witnesses to try to depict Mr. Roof as callous and premeditating and, as Mr. Williams argued in court last month, “a man who is proven to be a coward and a man of immense racial hatred.” |
| The witness list is expected to include at least one survivor of the attack, family members of the victims and federal law enforcement officials. Prosecutors called Jennifer Pinckney, the widow of the church’s slain pastor, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, as their first witness. | The witness list is expected to include at least one survivor of the attack, family members of the victims and federal law enforcement officials. Prosecutors called Jennifer Pinckney, the widow of the church’s slain pastor, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, as their first witness. |
| Mr. Roof and his now-sidelined legal team made no effort to contest his guilt across six days of testimony last month, when prosecutors and their witnesses described the killings in gruesome detail. | Mr. Roof and his now-sidelined legal team made no effort to contest his guilt across six days of testimony last month, when prosecutors and their witnesses described the killings in gruesome detail. |
| As Mr. Roof’s approach to the penalty phase and the government’s evidence emerged on Wednesday, the proceedings seemed to be a partial reflection of the defendant’s writings, which investigators gathered after the massacre at Emanuel, the oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation in the South. In those writings, which include a different journal, an online manifesto and letters to his parents, Mr. Roof railed against African-Americans, condemned psychology as “a Jewish invention,” declared that he had acted alone and made circumscribed expressions of regret, but only for the pain it would cause his family. | As Mr. Roof’s approach to the penalty phase and the government’s evidence emerged on Wednesday, the proceedings seemed to be a partial reflection of the defendant’s writings, which investigators gathered after the massacre at Emanuel, the oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation in the South. In those writings, which include a different journal, an online manifesto and letters to his parents, Mr. Roof railed against African-Americans, condemned psychology as “a Jewish invention,” declared that he had acted alone and made circumscribed expressions of regret, but only for the pain it would cause his family. |
| At the Bible study, Mr. Roof said almost nothing for nearly 45 minutes as the group of 12 studied the Gospel of Mark. Around 9 p.m., as the parishioners closed their eyes for a final prayer, he removed the Glock .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol he had secreted in a pouch and opened fire. The only explanation he provided to his victims as he methodically gunned them down, according to the testimony of one of the two women who survived the rampage, was, “I have to do this, because y’all are raping our women and y’all are taking over our world.” | At the Bible study, Mr. Roof said almost nothing for nearly 45 minutes as the group of 12 studied the Gospel of Mark. Around 9 p.m., as the parishioners closed their eyes for a final prayer, he removed the Glock .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol he had secreted in a pouch and opened fire. The only explanation he provided to his victims as he methodically gunned them down, according to the testimony of one of the two women who survived the rampage, was, “I have to do this, because y’all are raping our women and y’all are taking over our world.” |
| He first shot Mr. Pinckney, before aiming his handgun at the parishioners who scrambled to hide under tables. Although investigators said Mr. Roof fired more than 70 rounds of hollow-point ammunition during his rampage, he did not shoot everyone at the Bible study. | He first shot Mr. Pinckney, before aiming his handgun at the parishioners who scrambled to hide under tables. Although investigators said Mr. Roof fired more than 70 rounds of hollow-point ammunition during his rampage, he did not shoot everyone at the Bible study. |
| At one point, he approached Polly Sheppard, a retired nurse, and asked whether he had shot her. | At one point, he approached Polly Sheppard, a retired nurse, and asked whether he had shot her. |
| “I said ‘no,’” Ms. Sheppard testified during the guilt phase of Mr. Roof’s trial. “And he said: ‘I’m not going to. I’m going to leave you to tell the story.’” | “I said ‘no,’” Ms. Sheppard testified during the guilt phase of Mr. Roof’s trial. “And he said: ‘I’m not going to. I’m going to leave you to tell the story.’” |
| He spared few others he met that night. In addition to Mr. Pinckney, who was also a state senator, the victims included the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49; Cynthia Hurd, 54; Susie Jackson, 87; Ethel Lee Lance, 70; Tywanza Sanders, 26; the Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons Sr., 74; the Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45; and Myra Thompson, 59. | He spared few others he met that night. In addition to Mr. Pinckney, who was also a state senator, the victims included the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49; Cynthia Hurd, 54; Susie Jackson, 87; Ethel Lee Lance, 70; Tywanza Sanders, 26; the Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons Sr., 74; the Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45; and Myra Thompson, 59. |
| Mr. Roof was arrested the next morning in Shelby, N.C., where he confessed to F.B.I. agents and appeared stunned to learn the grim toll of his rampage. | Mr. Roof was arrested the next morning in Shelby, N.C., where he confessed to F.B.I. agents and appeared stunned to learn the grim toll of his rampage. |
| “I wouldn’t believe you,” Mr. Roof replied after an agent suggested to him that nine people had been killed. “There wasn’t even nine people there. Are you guys lying to me?” | “I wouldn’t believe you,” Mr. Roof replied after an agent suggested to him that nine people had been killed. “There wasn’t even nine people there. Are you guys lying to me?” |
| A federal grand jury indicted Mr. Roof on capital charges that included nine counts of obstruction of exercise of religion by force resulting in death and nine counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence. He is also facing a capital prosecution in state court. | A federal grand jury indicted Mr. Roof on capital charges that included nine counts of obstruction of exercise of religion by force resulting in death and nine counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence. He is also facing a capital prosecution in state court. |
| Mr. Roof reluctantly allowed lawyers to represent him during the trial’s guilt phase, but he took control of his defense during jury selection and again on Wednesday for sentencing proceedings. He disregarded Judge Gergel’s warnings that self-representation, permitted under a 1975 ruling by the United States Supreme Court, was “a bad idea,” and he did not reverse his decision before the judge’s deadline. | Mr. Roof reluctantly allowed lawyers to represent him during the trial’s guilt phase, but he took control of his defense during jury selection and again on Wednesday for sentencing proceedings. He disregarded Judge Gergel’s warnings that self-representation, permitted under a 1975 ruling by the United States Supreme Court, was “a bad idea,” and he did not reverse his decision before the judge’s deadline. |
| Defense lawyers, who had intended to mount a defense rooted in Mr. Roof’s mental health, pointedly resisted his efforts for weeks but, ultimately, were ordered to serve only as standby counsel, a status that allows them to offer guidance but not to make objections or question witnesses. | Defense lawyers, who had intended to mount a defense rooted in Mr. Roof’s mental health, pointedly resisted his efforts for weeks but, ultimately, were ordered to serve only as standby counsel, a status that allows them to offer guidance but not to make objections or question witnesses. |
| Mr. Roof’s plans for them to serve a diminished role had become clear by mid-December, when the lead defense lawyer, David I. Bruck, used his closing argument during the trial’s guilt phase to signal to the jury that Mr. Roof might be mentally troubled. Lacing his presentation, his last to jurors before sentencing, with words like “delusional,” “abnormal” and “irrationality,” Mr. Bruck portrayed Mr. Roof as a loner with no meaningful relationships. | Mr. Roof’s plans for them to serve a diminished role had become clear by mid-December, when the lead defense lawyer, David I. Bruck, used his closing argument during the trial’s guilt phase to signal to the jury that Mr. Roof might be mentally troubled. Lacing his presentation, his last to jurors before sentencing, with words like “delusional,” “abnormal” and “irrationality,” Mr. Bruck portrayed Mr. Roof as a loner with no meaningful relationships. |
| On Wednesday, Mr. Roof suggested that jurors disregard Mr. Bruck’s statements. | On Wednesday, Mr. Roof suggested that jurors disregard Mr. Bruck’s statements. |
| If Mr. Roof is sentenced to death, his case could prompt years of appeals; he is not guaranteed a right of self-representation during those proceedings. | If Mr. Roof is sentenced to death, his case could prompt years of appeals; he is not guaranteed a right of self-representation during those proceedings. |