Dylann Roof Deemed Competent, Will Represent Himself in Charleston Church Shooting Trial | Sojourners

Dylann Roof Deemed Competent, Will Represent Himself in Charleston Church Shooting Trial

Image via Matt Drobnik/flickr.com

On Nov. 28 Dylann Roof announced that he will represent himself during his upcoming trial, and his attorneys will serve only as his stand-by counsel, reports CBS Channel 5 News from Charleston, S.C. Roof made this announcement during the trial’s jury qualification process. Roof is accused of fatally shooting nine African-American parishioners in their church — the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston — after they met for a bible study.

On Nov. 25 Roof was deemed competent to stand trial, after his lawyers made a motion for Roof to undergo a mental evaluation, to see if he was mentally unfit to stand trial.

In December 2015, Roof’s trial was delayed. The date of this trial, where Roof will face 33 federal charges, is still unknown. Roof is also standing state trial on nine counts of murder and other charges, set to begin in January.

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