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Supreme Court rejects appeal from Dylann Roof, who killed 9

WASHINGTON (AP) — Roof shot participants at a Bible study session at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Supreme Court rejects appeal from Dylann Roof, who killed 9
FILE - Dylann Roof enters the court room at the Charleston County Judicial Center to enter his guilty plea on murder charges on April 10, 2017, in Charleston, S.C. The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Roof, who challenged his death sentence and conviction in the 2015 racist slayings of nine members of a Black South Carolina congregation. (Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, File)
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Dylann Roof, who challenged his death sentence and conviction in the 2015 racist slayings of nine members of a Black South Carolina congregation.

Roof had asked the court to decide how to handle disputes over mental illness-related evidence between capital defendants and their attorneys. The justices did not comment Tuesday in turning away the appeal.

Roof fired his attorneys and represented himself during the sentencing phase of his capital trial, part of his effort to block evidence potentially portraying him as mentally ill.


Roof shot participants at a Bible study session at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

A panel of appellate judges had previously upheld his conviction and death sentence.

Roof, 28, is on federal death row at a maximum-security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. He can still pursue other appeals.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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