MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On December 15, 2016, the jury in the trial of Roof found him guilty on all 33 counts, including 12 hate crimes and could be sentenced to death in January. During the next part of the trial the same jury is expected to make a decision on either life imprisonment or death penalty
Federal-court judge Richard Gergel ruled that Roof was competent to be his own lawyer in the next part of the trial and moved the start of the sentencing phase to Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The media outlet added that a court-appointed doctor examined Roof's mental condition and reaffirmed that he was competent.
On June 17, 2015, Roof killed nine churchgoers in a historically African American church in the town of Charleston. Roof, who admitted to the crimes, said he hoped his acts would spark a race war in the United States.
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