Dylann Roof, the white man who murdered nine black people at the historical Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015, was convicted on 33 federal counts on Thursday. The charges include nine counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, as well as obstructing the exercise of religion and hate crimes. The penalty portion of the trial is set for January 3. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death sentence.

The six-day trial included testimony from 30 witnesses, a recorded confession with the FBI, and excerpts from Roof’s journal. The New York Times reported that Roof, 22, was emotionless as the judge’s clerk announced the verdict. Roof will face the same federal jurors in a few weeks, when his future will be decided: death, or life without parole.

“It is my hope that the survivors, the families and the people of South Carolina can find some peace in the fact that justice has been served,” Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) said in a statement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams, during his closing arguments, said Roof is “a man of hatred, a man who’s proven to be a coward and a man of immense racial ignorance,” and that Roof killed the nine victims “because he believes that they are nothing more than animals.”

Roof’s defense attorney, David Bruck, sought to save his client from the death penalty, painting him as “illogical,” “delusional,” and “obsessive.” He implored the jury “to understand what was going on in [Roof’s] head,” telling them “there is something wrong with his perception.” Thursday was likely the last time Bruck will be able to make his argument against the death penalty, and he will find out in a few weeks whether he was successful or not. 

The state of South Carolina is charging Roof separately. That trial is scheduled for January 17. Polly Sheppard, a 72-year-old retired nurse, was one of the witnesses during the trial. Roof spared her life that bloody June evening. Roof heard her praying, Sheppard said, when he asked if she had been shot. She said no. “‘I’m not going to,'” Roof replied, Sheppard said. “‘I’m going to leave you here to tell the story.'”

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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On Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Ahmad Khan Rahami with terror charges for planting explosives in New Jersey and a bomb in New York that injured 31 people. The charges include use of a weapon of mass destruction. By Wednesday he was still in the hospital recovering from the ten gunshot wounds he received when he was arrested in Linden, New Jersey, on Monday.

Federal agents wanted to question Rahami, but he was allegedly not cooperating. It is unclear if his lack of cooperation was simply due to his injuries. Investigators are examining his trip to Pakistan a couple of years ago, and whether he got any money or training from any extremist organizations.

Rahami was born in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. as a young child. He previously worked as an unarmed night guard at an AP administrative technology office, where he talked a lot about politics and expressed sympathy for the Taliban and contempt for the U.S. military.

‘The sound of bombs will be heard in your streets,’ New York attacker vowed in journal https://t.co/BxaNgD0nSr

— The Independent (@Independent) September 21, 2016

The complaints filed against him reveal that he bought bomb ingredients on eBay and tried them out in a backyard—as shown on a video on a relative’s cellphone only two days before the attack in New York. He also kept a journal in which he had written down messages including that he would rather die as a martyr than be caught and that bombs would resound in the streets.

1. Authorities have published photo showing an excerpt of Ahmad Khan Rahami’s notebook where he notes inspiration from both ISIS & Al Qaeda pic.twitter.com/sZQcsY8Izm

— Lisa Daftari (@LisaDaftari) September 21, 2016

There were also references to Osama bin Laden and other well-known terrorists such as Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical cleric who has incited acts of violence, and Nidal Hasan, the former Army officer who was behind the shooting in Fort Hood in 2009.

Rahami was investigated for terrorism as early as 2014, when his father notified the FBI that his son was “doing real bad” and had stabbed his brother and hit his mother. He didn’t want to accuse his son of terrorism, but said that he was hanging out with the wrong kinds of people. The federal agency investigated Rahami for two months but didn’t find anything serious enough to charge him.

Also on Tuesday, a New Jersey court granted Rahami’s ex-girlfriend Maria Mena full custody of their child, saying there was a risk for irreparable harm to the child in the case of continued contact with Rahami. He was prohibited from having any more contact with his child. It was also revealed that he owed Mena more than $3,000 in child support.

The FBI questioned Rahami’s current wife in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, who said she had no idea about her husband’s violent plans.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The George Zimmerman trial has been one of the most hotly debated topics in the news recently, and with public outrage resulting from the verdict people question whether or not the federal government will step in with charges of its own. Although it is technically possible for the government to pursue federal charges against Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin, there are several challenges that federal prosecutors would face.  Because the state and federal governments are two separate spheres, the concept of double jeopardy does not apply and Zimmerman can be charged in both state and federal court for the same crime.  However, federal charges can only be filed if the state prosecution did not satisfy a significant federal interest, and if the federal government believes sufficient evidence for a conviction exists.

Federal civil rights laws were enacted to ensure proper enforcement of the law, allowing for the federal government to intervene in the event that the state left federal interests “unvindicated.” Additionally, civil rights cases are rarely prosecuted at a federal level after having already been tried in state courts, but it has happened.  The most notable example of this is the case involving the police officers accused of beating Rodney King Jr. in 1991.  All four officers were initially acquitted in state court, but the subsequent federal trial led to two convictions.  In that case, and the argument could be made for George Zimmerman as well, federal charges furthered-a government interest in bringing racially-motivated criminals to justice.

Lastly, the application of federal law to the Zimmerman case could create a problem for prosecutors.  Many laws relating to racial violence and hate crimes deal with state authority over acts committed in public areas.  Because Zimmerman was not an actor of the government nor did the altercation take place on public property, a new statute that deems any racially-motivated violence a crime would most likely be used by the prosecution.  In order for federal prosecutors to convict Zimmerman they will need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his actions were motivated by race.  Doing so would not be an easy task, as there were no witnesses and Zimmerman has previously claimed self-defense.

Although there are many challenges that prosecutors would face, federal charges are not completely out of the question, especially as public outrage continues.

[Reuters.com]

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Featured image courtesy of [Werth Media via Flickr]

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

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