On Tuesday, prosecutors at the Department of Justice announced they will pursue the death penalty for Dylann Roof, the 22-year-old accused of shooting nine worshippers in a Charleston, South Carolina church last year. Six women and three men were killed at the Emanuel AME Church.
“Following the department’s rigorous review process to thoroughly consider all relevant factual and legal issues, I have determined that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced in a statement.
Lynch said she made her decision based on the “nature of the alleged crime and the resulting harm.”
Last month, Joey Meek, a friend of Roof, pled guilty to lying to authorities and failing to report a crime. Authorities said that Meek did not tell law enforcement about Roof's plan to shoot the churchgoers.
At the state level, prosecutors said they were going to seek the death penalty against Roof, who was recently indicted on hate crime charges. The trial has been delayed several times, waiting for the DOJ to decide how to charge him.
Roof's attorney said he would plead guilty to federal hate crime charges and had no comment on the death penalty decision.
