Dylann Roof During Closing Argument to Jury: ‘I felt like I had to do it’
Dylann Roof, who was granted the ability to defend himself in court, delivered his closing statements to the jury deciding whether he’ll be sentenced to life in prison or given the death penalty.
In his five-minute closing statement, he told the jury that he felt he had to enter Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina and kill nine people.
“In my confession to the FBI I told them that I had to do it, and obviously that’s not really true. … I didn’t have to do anything,” Roof said, according to CNN. “But what I meant when I said that was, I felt like I had to do it, and I still do feel like I had to do it.”
Roof never aimed to be found innocent for his crime, which he was found guilty of last month. But his complete lack of any signs of remorse or regret make his actions even harder to swallow.
Prosecutors spent two hours attempting to convince the jury to sentence Roof, who they paint as a calculated, violent white supremacist, to death. Roof, while admitting his chances avoid such a penalty aren’t in his favor, did at least try and ask the jury to consider another option.