He said he acted to try and bring back segregation or start a race war by killing congregation members at the historically black church of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
In his confession to the FBI, he said he felt that he ‘had to do it’. Speaking today, he said ‘I still feel that way.’
Roof, who is white, faced either life in prison or execution for the slayings on June 17, 2015. The same jury which found him guilty was tasked with deciding his sentence, and reached their conclusion after about three hours.
He said he ‘was sitting there for 15 minutes’ thinking about whether he should carry out the attack.
‘I knew I could have just walked out because they didn’t say anything to me about the thing on my belt,’ he said in an FBI interview. ‘So I could have walked out, that’s what I was just thinking.
‘Then I just, like, I don”t know just like, I don’t want to say spur of the moment but I just finally decided I had to do it. And that’s pretty much it.’
His legal team said they were sorry that ‘despite our best efforts, the legal proceedings have shed so little light on the reasons for this tragedy,’ a veiled referenced to the mental issues they wanted to present during sentencing.
The juriors’ decision means Roof will be the first American to get the death penalty for federal hate crimes.
He was convicted last month of all 33 federal charges against him.
During sentencing, he represented himself and told jurors he didn’t have a mental illness.
But he didn’t offer any remorse or ask that his life be spared.
Malcolm Graham said it ‘sends a strong message’ that hate crimes will not be tolerated.
Graham said there is ‘no room in a civilised society for hatred, racism and discrimination.’
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