Nine shots were fired Wednesday, June 17th, 2015 at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. A white male enters the church around 8 p.m. and joins a group bible study, waiting nearly an hour before standing up and firing at everyone. Nine church goers were killed, one of those nine being a church pastor and South Carolina senator, Clementa Pinckney (Shapiro, ABC News). Through the help of security cameras posted in front of the church, Dylann Roof, 21, was identified as the shooter. The next Thursday morning, Roof was apprehended at a traffic stop after a business contacted the police with a possible sighting of the killer (Shapiro, ABC News). Roof explained his reasoning behind murdering these people in
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Documents of Roof’s crime states that he “knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person in a public place, by means of a weapon” (Dixon, NY Times). Scarlett Wilson, the prosecutor seeking the death penalty for Roof, believes Roof “committed the ultimate crime and deserves the ultimate punishment for his actions” (Ellis, CNN). In spite of Roof’s actions, the victims’ family members attended his trial and told Roof they forgave him. A daughter of one of the victims, Ethel Lance, says to Roof, “And have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people but God forgives you, and I forgive you.” (Ellis, CNN) Wilson, despite talking with the family members of the victims, has decided to seek the death penalty for Roof. She admits that some of the victims do not believe in the death penalty, but they respect her decision to carry through with her actions (Ellis, CNN). The family members did not believe in the death penalty on religious grounds, as well as the fact that a lifetime in prison would be a better punishment (Dixon, NY Times). Wilson makes the point that the family must move on and forgive to begin the healing process, but she knows that forgiveness does not mean being free of consequence (Dixon, NY
Documents of Roof’s crime states that he “knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person in a public place, by means of a weapon” (Dixon, NY Times). Scarlett Wilson, the prosecutor seeking the death penalty for Roof, believes Roof “committed the ultimate crime and deserves the ultimate punishment for his actions” (Ellis, CNN). In spite of Roof’s actions, the victims’ family members attended his trial and told Roof they forgave him. A daughter of one of the victims, Ethel Lance, says to Roof, “And have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people but God forgives you, and I forgive you.” (Ellis, CNN) Wilson, despite talking with the family members of the victims, has decided to seek the death penalty for Roof. She admits that some of the victims do not believe in the death penalty, but they respect her decision to carry through with her actions (Ellis, CNN). The family members did not believe in the death penalty on religious grounds, as well as the fact that a lifetime in prison would be a better punishment (Dixon, NY Times). Wilson makes the point that the family must move on and forgive to begin the healing process, but she knows that forgiveness does not mean being free of consequence (Dixon, NY