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White supremacist Dylann Roof convicted in Charleston massacre of black parishioners

Charleston church killer Dylann Roof. CREDIT: AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File
Charleston church killer Dylann Roof. CREDIT: AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File

Dylann Roof was found guilty by a South Carolina jury on Thursday, after a brief deliberation.

The jury reportedly asked to review Roof’s videotaped confession shortly after it began deliberating on Thursday afternoon. About two hours later, they returned guilty verdicts on all of the 33 separate federal charges against the killer.

On a Wednesday night in June 2015, Roof walked into the historic Emanuel AME church in Charleston. He sat with black worshippers for some time, and even prayed with them, before opening fire. Nine of his victims died and a tenth was wounded.

Multiple survivors testified in Roof’s trial, including Polly Sheppard, who told the court that Roof told her he was letting her live so that she could tell the world what he’d done.

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Roof’s fate remains to be seen. He faces the death penalty. The lawyer who represented him during his trial will not stand for him in the sentencing phase, where the 22-year-old avowed white supremacist has elected to represent himself.