But perhaps most important is what he didn\u2019t say: He didn\u2019t 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.
\u201cMy opening statement is going to seem a little bit out of place,\u201d the soft-spoken 22-year-old white man said calmly as he stood in front of a podium, occasionally glancing at notes. \u201cI am not going to lie to you. … Other than the fact that I trust people that I shouldn\u2019t and the fact that I\u2019m probably better at constantly embarrassing myself than anyone who\u2019s ever existed, there\u2019s nothing wrong with me psychologically.\u201d
Roof\u2019s 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. They have not said what that evidence may be, but as early as last summer, they had planned to introduce evidence that Roof suffers from a mental illness. Since then, many motions have been filed under seal, purportedly to conceal sensitive information, but it\u2019s likely more details on what lawyers planned to present.
It\u2019s clear, from his own writings, Roof doesn\u2019t believe in psychology. In a journal read in court during his trial, Roof called the specialty \u201ca Jewish invention\u201d that \u201cdoes nothing but invent diseases and tell people they have problems when they don\u2019t.\u201d
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 \u201cyou\u2019re raping our women and taking over the nation.\u201d
Assistant U. S. Attorney Nathan Williams said the \u201chorrific acts justify the death penalty.\u201d
\u201cHe killed nine people. … He killed them because of the color of their skin. He killed them because they were less than people,\u201d Williams said.
A look at the people killed in Emanuel AME Church, a historic church in Charleston, South Carolina
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 \u201cprodigy of the ministry\u201d who was a man of faith, service and family dedication.
Roof, who is representing himself, made no objections as photos of late church pastor Clementa Pinckney were introduced as evidence, reports CBS News affiliate WCSC-Charleston .
As the photos were displayed, Pinckney\u2019s wife Jennifer described him as a family man who started preaching at a young age and loved to wear uniquely-patterned socks.
He mostly wore slacks when they first met, but she eventually got him into wearing jeans and following football.
While Clementa Pinckney \u2014 who started leading his first church at 18 \u2014 eventually became a senator, \u201che always made time for the family and he always made time for the girls,\u201d Jennifer Pinckney said.
Nine people were killed, including the pastor, in a historic black church in Charleston late June 17, 2015; the suspect, Dylann Roof, was charged…
The prosecutor also read a portion from a journal found in Roof\u2019s jail cell six weeks after his arrest in which Roof said he had not wept for any of the victims.
\u201cI remember how I felt when I did these things and how I knew I had to do something and then I realize it was worth it,\u201d Roof wrote, as a handwritten page from his journal appeared on screens in the courtroom. \u201cI would like to make it crystal clear. I do not regret what I did. I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.\u201d
As their first witness, prosecutors called Pinckney\u2019s widow, Jennifer Pinckney. During more than an hour on the stand, Pinckney described her husband as an affable figure who garnered respect from all corners in his roles as legislator and preacher but was a goofy family man in private with his two young daughters.
\u201cHe always made time for the family, and he always made time for the girls,\u201d said Pinckney, describing her husband\u2019s affinity for cartoonish neckties and socks. \u201cHe was the person I think that every mom would be happy that their daughter met and married. … I know that he loved me. And he knew how much that I loved him.\u201d
Prosecutors said they would question Pinckney about the night of the shooting when court resumed after a lunch break.
Roof was found competent to represent himself during two different hearings, one before the trial and another one within the last week. He has said he doesn\u2019t plan on calling any witnesses or introduce any evidence.<\/p>\n

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