Charleston Church Killer Vows Not To Use ‘Jewish’ Psychology in Defense
Dylann Roof Image by Getty Images
Convicted murderer Dylann Roof will not ask jurors to take his mental health into consideration next month during the death penalty phase of his trial for killing nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.
In a handwritten note filed in a South Carolina federal court on Friday, Roof, an avowed white supremacist, wrote, “I will not be calling mental health experts or presenting mental health evidence.”
Roof was found guilty on Thursday of 33 charges of federal hate crimes after a six-day trial featuring harrowing testimony about the night of June 17, 2015, when he attended Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church before opening fire on the parishioners.
He spent months scouting potential sites for the attack, which he confessed to carrying out, and wrote a journal and online manifesto filled with hatred toward Jewish and black people.
Roof’s decision not to call mental health experts or present mental health evidence came after he called the field of psychology a “Jewish invention” in his journal, part of which was read aloud at his trial earlier this month.
“I am morally opposed to psychology. It is a Jewish invention that does nothing but invent diseases and tell people they have problems when they don’t,” Roof wrote.
The jury is scheduled to begin hearing evidence on Jan. 3 in the second phase of the trial, which will determine whether Roof faces execution.
Roof is acting as his own lawyer in that proceeding.
He still faces a trial next year on state charges in connection with the church killings. South Carolina prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty as well.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
