On the evening of June 17, 2015, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, located in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, a tragedy occurred. A 21-year-old man by the name of Dylann Roof killed nine African American people in their house of prayer. Over a year later, we finally have reached a verdict. Dylann Roof faces 33 federal charges including hate crimes and obstruction of religion. The same panel will reconvene on January 3rd, 2017 to decide whether the death penalty will come into play.
Dylann Roof is more than a murderer, and a racist. Dylann Roof symbolizes a part of society and history that we try to suppress as Americans. Dylann Roof is proof that there is still and always will be forms of hatred and deep-rooted racism in the United States.
Furthermore, while doing further investigation, they later found videos of Dylann Roof practicing shots with the same gun he used at the AME church, a list of other historical Black churches to attack next, and further evidence of his deep-rooted racism. Although these were CLEAR signs of implicit racism, many stated that Dylann Roof's mental health must be evaluated and doubted that these actions were carried out intentionally by Roof. After being evaluated by one of the best psychologists, he was deemed mentally sound and aware of the actions taken.
The final question still sits: does Dylann Roof deserve the death penalty? A life is a precious thing. It is not to be taken for granted, for we know how quickly this precious thing can be taken from us. A church? A church is a place of sanctuary to the hurt, oppressed, and fallen. A place to exercise our religious beliefs without the fear of persecution. Dylann Roof took this away from them. But, not only did he take this from the nine innocent lives who were in that church, but from people everywhere. A place of release, peace, and refuge is no longer a place deemed safe.
People in the courtroom describe Dylann Roof as being nonchalant, emotionless, with showing no sense of remorse for the cruel actions he carried out. The prosecutor stated on Thursday that "Roof was full of hate and “immense racial ignorance” when he carried out the attack in Charleston" (CBS NEWS) and still is.
Dylann Roof does not deserve to have his life spared. Nine innocent lives were taken abruptly by deep rooted hate. If we spare his life, we preach not only that actions as such should be taken lightly, but that white privlege still exist and will always exist in our society.
