With a guilty plea expected in his state trial, Dylann Roof will soon be transferred to the federal Bureau of Prisons to await his death sentence.
Last December, the 22-year-old white nationalist was found guilty on 33 federal charges stemming from the mass shooting inside Emanuel AME Church in 2015. Roof was later sentenced to death, but has remained in custody at a Charleston County jail while he awaits trial on state murder charges.
Last week, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, the lead prosecutor in Roof’s state trial, informed the families of his victims that the gunman would plead guilty and receive a life sentence. In a letter to the families, Wilson explained that the life sentence would serve as an “insurance policy” to the federal conviction and expedite Roof’s transfer to federal custody. The guilty plea would also allow family members to avoid the anguish of another trial.
Since his arrest on June 18, 2015, Roof has remained in state custody. An agreement filed Sunday would formalize the transfer of custody from state to federal agencies.
“Among other reasons, such a transfer will permit the United States government to carry out the sentences imposed by the federal jury and court, will avoid the need to put the victims through the stress and trauma of another trial as the defendant will agree to plead guilty in state court, will save public resources, and will ensure the timely resolution of all charges against Dylann Storm Roof,” states the agreement signed by federal attorneys, Solicitor Wilson, Roof’s attorneys, and the convicted killer himself.
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