Charleston, SC: In his own words, convicted mass killer Dylann Roof showed he has no remorse for shooting nine black parishioners during a Bible study in a historic church, the prosecution showed jurors who will decide if Roof lives or dies.
"I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed," Roof wrote in a jail journal entry six weeks after his arrest. The journal was presented in court Wednesday by federal prosecutors. "I do feel sorry for the innocent white children forced to live in this sick country," the now 22-year-old wrote.
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Charleston church gunman guilty
A jury finds Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof guilty of federal hate crimes resulting in the death of nine black parishioners at a historic church in South Carolina last year.
Prosecuting attorney Nathan Williams showed the court the journal, which went on to say, "I did not regret what I did. I am not sorry. I do feel sorry for the innocent white people that are killed daily at the hands of the lower races."
Representing himself during the sentencing phase of his federal hate crimes death penalty trial, Roof told jurors on Wednesday morning that there is nothing wrong with him psychologically.
During his two-minute opening statement on Wednesday, Roof said he is representing himself to prevent his lawyers from offering mental illness evidence and he assumed the jury had heard about that.
That same jury found the self-avowed white supremacist from the Columbia area guilty of murder in connection with the 2015 killings at historic Emanuel AME church in downtown Charleston.
Wednesday's proceeding was the first day of the penalty phase of Roof's trial. The jury will decide whether Roof should be executed or serve life in prison without possibility of parole.
Standing at a lectern about three metres from the jury of nine whites and three African-Americans, Roof criticised his attorneys, saying they "forced" him to go through two mental competency hearings.
![Dylann Roof in June 2015.](/web/20170105092753im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/8/b/3/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtm5p0.png/1483578331731.jpg)
"Other than the fact that I am better at constantly embarrassing myself than anyone who has ever existed, there is nothing wrong with me, psychologically," Roof said in a calm and steady voice.
As Roof spoke, five burly plainclothes law officers sat nearby, ready to spring into action should Roof become threatening.
![Jennifer Pinckney speaks beside an image of her late husband, the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the victims of the ...](/web/20170105092753im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/m/9/2/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtm5p0.png/1483578331731.jpg)
David Bruck, Roof's nationally known defence lawyer, who had repeatedly failed to introduce evidence concerning Roof's alleged mental instability into the trial, sat at the defence table. Federal Judge Richard Gergel has designated Bruck and his legal team as "stand-by counsel," meaning they can give Roof guidance, but they cannot make statements during trial.
Roof also told the jury he regretted that information concerning his mental competency hearings will be made public after the trial is over.
![John Pinckney, father of shooting victim Reverend Clementa Pinckney, is greeted after leaving the Courthouse in ...](/web/20170105092753im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/d/j/o/6/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtm5p0.png/1483578331731.jpg)
"In that case, my self-representation accomplishes nothing," Roof said. "So you can say 'What's the point?' And the point is that I'm not going to lie to you."
Reading from Roof's journal, Williams added that Roof would sometimes think about how he could be watching a movie instead of being stuck in jail. But Williams said Roof wrote that he knew he had to do something. "And then I realise it was worth it."
"I would like to make it crystal clear, I am not sorry for what I did," Roof wrote. "I feel pity that I had to give up my life because of the situation that should have never existed."
Williams argued that Roof's jail journal confession, and his continued lack of remorse, shows why he deserves the death penalty. He warned the jury that the testimony over the next few days could be even harder to hear than what was presented during the guilt phase.
If the first witness was any indication, this penalty phase of Roof's trial could take weeks. Prosecutors plan to call up to 38 witnesses.
Jennifer Pinckney, the widow of the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, was the first to testify. She was on the stand 90 minutes Wednesday morning and still was testifying at 12.30 pm. when Gergel halted testimony so the jury could take a lunch break.
It marked the first time Pinckney's widow testified since the trial began and one of the few times she has spoken publicly since her husband's murder.
TNS