Charleston gunman: ‘There is nothing wrong with me psychologically’

Convicted South Carolina church gunman Dylann Roof has spoken to the jury for the first time at his death penalty trial, telling jurors there is nothing wrong with him psychologically.

During the speech, he did not ask jurors to spare his life or to spare him the death penalty.

The jury last month unanimously found Roof guilty of hate crimes over the massacre of nine black church members during a Bible study in Charleston.

They will now decide whether he should be sentenced to death.

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“My opening statement is going to seem a little bit out of place,” the 22-year-old said as he stood in front of a podium, occasionally glancing at notes.

“I am not going to lie to you . . . Other than the fact that I trust people that I shouldn’t and the fact that I’m probably better at constantly embarrassing myself than anyone who’s ever existed, there’s nothing wrong with me psychologically.”

Roof’s lawyers have indicated that he chose to represent himself during the sentencing phase of his trial because he was worried they might present embarrassing evidence about himself or his family.

They have not said what that evidence might be.

Roof was found competent to represent himself during two different hearings, including one within the last week.

Targets

Prosecutors said Roof deserved the death penalty because he painstakingly chose to target vulnerable people during the attack at Emanuel AME Church in June 2015.

“This defendant’s horrific acts justify the death penalty,” assistant US attorney Nathan Williams said.

“He killed nine people . . . He killed them because of the colour of their skin. He killed them because they were less than people.”

Prosecutors plan to call up to 38 acquaintances of the nine people killed and the three who survived the attack.

Mr Williams told jurors they would hear extensive testimony about the nine victims.

“This will be heartbreaking,” Mr Williams said.

The prosecutor also read a portion from a journal found in Roof’s jail cell six weeks after his arrest, in which Roof said he had not wept for any of the victims.

“I remember how I felt when I did these things and how I knew I had to do something and then I realise it was worth it,” Roof wrote, as a handwritten page from his journal appeared on screens in the courtroom.

“I would like to make it crystal clear. I do not regret what I did. I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.”

Roof has said he does not plan to call any witnesses or introduce any evidence.

AP