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Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof has been handed nine consecutive life sentences, after he pleaded guilty to state murder charges, leaving him to await execution in a federal prison and sparing the families of his victims the burden of a second trial.
Key points:
- Roof pleaded guilty to nine murder charges in state trial
- Prosecution confident Roof will be executed
- Grandfather tells court Roof isn't not 'all bad'
Judge JC Nicholson imposed the sentences following a hearing in which church members and Roof's grandfather testified about the personal toll of the case.
The self-avowed white supremacist entered his guilty pleas while standing at the defence table with his lawyers, handcuffed to a chain at his waist.
Roof's plea deal with state prosecutors, who like their federal counterparts had pursued the death penalty, came in exchange for a life prison sentence on the state charges.
'Insurance policy for execution'
Prosecution lawyer Scarlett Wilson called the plea deal "an insurance policy for the federal conviction".
With a new administration in Washington, Ms Wilson said she was more confident a federal death sentence would be carried out.
Ms Wilson also praised the Charleston community for rising above the tragedy and called Roof's plan to start a race war "an epic failure".
Before sentencing Roof, the judge heard members of the historically African American Emanuel AME church, describe the toll the June 2015 shooting took on them and their community.
"The impact at Mother Emanuel has been far-reaching," said Pastor Eric Manning, who currently leads Emanuel's congregation. "We visit the crime scene every day."
Blondelle Gadsden, the sister of slain Myra Thompson, said, "Even though we're at a point where death has been the sentence for him, my heart still goes out to him in hopes that he would repent to save himself from himself.
"I can't think of anything worse that he could do at this point than to not accept Christ and try to make his days on this earth a little bit more peaceful."
But Eva Dilligard, whose sister Susie Jackson was slain by Roof, said she had been hoping for a harsher penalty in the state trial.
"I think somebody doing something like that, he should get death. I'm very sorry — I'm a child of God, but he hurt the entire family."
'He's not all bad', grandfather says
The judge also heard from Roof's grandfather, Columbia lawyer Joe Roof.
"I want everyone to understand that nothing is all bad, and Dylann is not all bad," he said.
He added that he and his wife pray for the Emanuel families every night, and are sensitive to their problems.
"We have been distressed and just sick over what has happened to these families," he said.
Dylann Roof had been unapologetic at his federal trial as he listened to days of testimony from survivors.
They described in harrowing detail the hail of bullets that began when parishioners closed their eyes to pray during a bible study.
Roof will be taken to a federal prison in another state, where he will await his execution on charges of hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion.
Roof was convicted late last year of 33 federal charges and he was sentenced to death during a separate proceeding earlier this year.
Relatives of each of the nine people killed attended court each day of his federal trial.
Twice found competent to stand trial, Roof fired his defence team for the sentencing portion of his proceedings, calling no witnesses or putting up any evidence of his own.
"I have the right to ask you to give me a life sentence, but I'm not sure what good it would do anyway," Roof told jurors in his closing argument. "I still feel like I had to do it."
AP
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, murder-and-manslaughter, race-relations, united-states
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