Dylan Roof found guilty

[47of74]

Some good news out of South Carolina today...

nytimes.com/2016/12/15/us/dylann-roof-trial.html?_r=0

Quote

Dylann S. Roof, a self-radicalized young white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners last year when he opened fire during a long-planned assault on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was found guilty by a federal jury here on Thursday.

The jury convicted Mr. Roof of nine counts of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill (there were three survivors), nine counts of obstructing the exercise of religion resulting in death, three counts of that charge with an attempt to kill, and nine counts of using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence.

He will face the same jurors next month when they gather on Jan. 3 to begin a second and more suspenseful phase of his trial to decide whether he will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

The jury reached its decision in the trial’s guilt phase after deliberating for only a couple of hours. Closing arguments were Thursday morning. The verdict seemed a foregone conclusion from the first minutes of the trial, which began on Dec. 7 and included a swift acknowledgment from the chief defense lawyer, David I. Bruck, that Mr. Roof was responsible for the “astonishing, horrible attack” on June 17, 2015.

I hope Roof gets life imprisonment, not death.  Making him spend the next 70 or so years in prison is more of a punishment than sending him to meet his maker.

[anniebgood]

I don't think I could bear the burden of deciding death. I do think that confining him for the rest of his natural life is a better thing. That way he has to think every day of what he did and how his beliefs failed him. That is a better punishment because when he's dead he's dead. 

[hoipolloi]

35 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

I hope Roof gets life imprisonment, not death.  Making him spend the next 70 or so years in prison is more of a punishment than sending him to meet his maker.

So do I. Let him rot in solitary, completely cut off from media & the internet. 

 

[Summer60]

I should hope he was found guilty!! This loser is scum. I hate looking at his face.

18 hours ago, anniebgood said:

I don't think I could bear the burden of deciding death. I do think that confining him for the rest of his natural life is a better thing. That way he has to think every day of what he did and how his beliefs failed him. That is a better punishment because when he's dead he's dead. 

I recently said I think most people are inherently good. Something went wrong with Roof at some point and he became a monster. I don't know, maybe it was in the womb, but he is a disgusting person and I am doubtful people like him will ever come to terms with the fact that what he did is utterly disgusting.

[LadyCrow1313]

19 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Some good news out of South Carolina today...

nytimes.com/2016/12/15/us/dylann-roof-trial.html?_r=0

I hope Roof gets life imprisonment, not death.  Making him spend the next 70 or so years in prison is more of a punishment than sending him to meet his maker.

Exactly. Does South Carolina have anything equivalent to the Tent City Jail in Phoenix? This butthole needs to not only be alive for the rest of his sorry ass life, but also needs to put in some hard labor & not have an easy time of it.

 

18 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

So do I. Let him rot in solitary, completely cut off from media & the internet. 

 

100% in agreement with this, too. Good thing I'm not a judge; I'd be flip-flopping back and forth with what to do with him.

[47of74]

10 minutes ago, LadyCrow1313 said:

Exactly. Does South Carolina have anything equivalent to the Tent City Jail in Phoenix? This butthole needs to not only be alive for the rest of his sorry ass life, but also needs to put in some hard labor & not have an easy time of it.

 

100% in agreement with this, too. Good thing I'm not a judge; I'd be flip-flopping back and forth with what to do with him.

Yeah, even though I'm in training to become a Degreed Legal Professional™  I don't know that I'd want to be a judge.  It's kind of appealing but I'd be worried about making mistakes.

[December]

18 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

So do I. Let him rot in solitary, completely cut off from media & the internet.

Yeah, I understand why they term him self radicalized but giving him any sort of platform to spread his views could just help others do the same.

I feel like it's probably best if he just disappears into prison with a life sentence now, so that the media doesn't give him any more attention.

[Buzzard]

19 hours ago, anniebgood said:

I don't think I could bear the burden of deciding death. I do think that confining him for the rest of his natural life is a better thing. That way he has to think every day of what he did and how his beliefs failed him. That is a better punishment because when he's dead he's dead. 

I've been through more DP cases than I can count and there are quite a few that leave no doubt in what they deserve.   Life confinement is a good thought, but with that also comes risk.  Brian Nichols is a primary example - he will never stop trying to escape and its only a matter of time before he kills someone else.

When you're in the situation and you get to really know the victims, their families, and touch the evidence...the decision becomes easier, if its the right result.

[Mercer]

I was fully expecting the guilty verdict. Frankly, it was a foregone conclusion because Roof undeniably did it - there's ample evidence in terms of his confession, identification by survivors, surveillance footage, forensics, etc. Even the defense didn't try to argue Roof is innocent because there's no point, they more just focused on his mental health. I don't think anyone seriously expected any outcome besides a guilty verdict in a case this clear cut. Still, I'm glad the trial proceeded as it should have.

For the record, from what I've read Roof's surviving victims and the families of the deceased do not want the death penalty in this case due to their religious beliefs.

[anniebgood]

Since this is a federal case, federal DP guidelines apply. I don't understand why SC wants to try him, because in fact, the federal case holds more standing. 

I think a nice cemet cell in a federal supermax with very few privileges might do the trick. I read the guidelines for the one in Colorado and they have to toe the line if they want to be allowed to do anything. He is a sad child. Where he got radicalized to be a domestic terrorist needs to be addressed as well. I'm all for the 1st amendment but there has to be some kind of way to block access for those under a certain age (18). I'd love to discuss this with an attorney who specializes in constitutional law. It would be fascinating. 

And gee, he wasn't brown, he wasn't Muslim, he was a white radicalized young man. 

 

 

[PennySycamore]

A case like Dylan Roof's makes me wish we had the equivalent of Devil's Island. or Alcatraz.   Get these people out of society and make damn sure they can't escape.

[RosyDaisy]

Life in prison sounds fine to me. Certain inmates don't take ro kindly to racist.

[47of74]

18 hours ago, anniebgood said:

I'm all for the 1st amendment but there has to be some kind of way to block access for those under a certain age (18). I'd love to discuss this with an attorney who specializes in constitutional law. It would be fascinating. 

Yeah, give me a few years. 

One thing that always ground my gears is that our outgoing President is a lawyer who specialized in Constitutional law - and even taught it for a while.  Yet every inbred hick who only has sex with farm animals (h/t Nyota Uhura) whines about how said outgoing President doesn't know jack shit about the Constitution.

[doggie]

I love how he won't use a psychiatrist because they are all Jews or leaned from jews.