On July 17, 2015, Dylann Storm Roof was attending a Bible study group at the Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Approximately one hour into the meeting,
Roof stood up, pulled out a gun, and opened fire on the other members of the group
who were all Black. As reported by ABC News, nine people were killed in the attack,
and several others were injured. Roof ran from the scene immediately after the shooting.
However, he was caught and taken into custody during a traffic stop the following day.
Roof wrote a manifesto which was published on his personal website
explaining why he targeted the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
In the manifesto, he said he had "no choice" as there were no active white supremacist
groups in the region, and he felt it was his responsibility to act on their behalf.
There were signs of Roof's growing racism, but Roof's friend Joey Meek told CNN,
"Dylann wasn't a serious person; no one took him serious.
But if someone had taken him serious, this all would [...] have been avoided."
"He was just saying he wanted segregation. He wanted a race war."
Roof was ultimately convicted of 33 federal hate crimes.
In a separate trial, he was convicted of all nine murders, three attempted murders,
and a weapons charge. In the federal trial, Roof was sentenced to death. In the state trial,
he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dylann Roof is currently on death row at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute,
Indiana. According to multiple reports,
Roof claims being repeatedly targeted and harassed by guards and his fellow inmates.
In August 2016, Roof was taking a shower when he was reportedly attacked by a fellow inmate
who was supposed to have been locked in his cell. As reported by The Post and Courier, Dwayne
Stafford punched Roof in his face and in his back before deputies arrived to escort Stafford back
to his cell. Prison administrators eventually acknowledged Stafford's cell was open for almost
11 hours. However, the guards insisted that they made sure it was locked prior to the incident.
Records indicated the electronic panel was in working condition and registered that the
door was unlocked. Inspectors also verified the door was not compromised in any way.
Per The Post and Courier, Roof said guards also planted a weapon in his cell,
for which he received a six-month punishment. In addition to being placed in isolation, Roof
lost his phone and television privileges and was prohibited from using the prison's law library.
In response to the incident and the subsequent restrictions,
Roof went on a hunger strike. However, according to NBC News,
"[T]he protest ended a day later after corrections officers forcibly tried to
take his blood and insert an IV into his arm, causing him to briefly pass out."
Throughout his incarceration, Dylann Roof has kept journals and sent letters to family and friends.
According to reports, his writings emphasize his lack of remorse and his reiterate his conviction
that the murders were justified in his mind. In one particularly chilling journal entry, Roof
said he had no sympathy for any of his victims. He did express sympathy for himself though, saying he
was essentially forced to commit murder and is now suffering the consequences of that decision.
Videos of Roof's visits with his parents only further underline his lack of empathy for others,
with reports suggesting that the inmate openly laughed at his parents' obvious distress
and threatened his father. Roof is also reportedly in regular contact with a number of
so-called "serial killer fanatics," with whom he shares his white supremacist views.
As reported by the Associated Press, Roof's attorneys filed an appeal in August 2021,
but three judges with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond unanimously rejected the
appeal, which was filed on the grounds that Roof was incompetent to stand trial. The judges wrote,
"No cold record or careful parsing of statutes and precedents can capture the full horror of
what Roof did. His crimes qualify him for the harshest penalty that a just society can impose."
Roof's execution date cannot be set until all of the appeals have been exhausted.
The current moratorium, which halted all federal executions per a policy and procedural review,
will also delay Roof's execution.
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