CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on the federal death penalty trial of a man accused of killing nine black people during a South Carolina church Bible study (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
A judge has explained in writing why he denied a request for a mistrial from a man accused of slaying nine people during a Bible study at a South Carolina church.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel wrote in an order filed Tuesday that attorneys for Dylann Roof didn’t make a timely objection to powerful testimony from Felicia Sanders, one of the survivors of the June 2015 shootings at Emanuel AME Church.
Sanders testified last week Roof is “evil” and belonged in hell. A day after her testimony, Roof’s defense team said testimony characterizing possible penalties for their client shouldn’t be allowed, but Gergel disagreed.
Roof faces a possible death sentence if he’s convicted. Another death penalty trial in state court is planned for next year.
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11 a.m.
An expert says a GPS device found in the car of the man charged with killing nine people at a South Carolina church shows the path he took the day of the shootings.
Jay Dee Krull works at Garmin, where he has helped design GPS devices. He testified Tuesday that timestamps from a Garmin found in Dylann Roof’s car show he got to the church before the shootings and left more than an hour later.
Law enforcement agents testified Monday they found a GPS in Roof’s car when he was arrested the day after the shootings. Data from other days show Roof drove by the church in the months leading up to the shootings.
Roof faces a possible death sentence if he’s convicted in the June 2015 shootings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Another death penalty trial in state court is planned for next year.
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10:15 a.m.
Attorneys for a man accused in the shooting deaths of nine black people during Bible study at a South Carolina church say they do plan to present witnesses after all.
Defense attorney David Bruck said in court Tuesday he does plan to call some witnesses to testify on behalf of Dylann Roof. Bruck had previously said he might not put up much of a case during the first phase of Roof’s trial. He instead indicated he would focus more on the part of the trial where jurors will decide between the death penalty and life in prison if Roof is convicted.
Prosecutors say they plan to finish their case this week. Roof faces 33 federal charges including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion. Jurors began hearing the case against him last week.
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9:20 a.m.
A judge has denied a man’s request to introduce evidence about his state of mind during his trial for the shooting deaths of nine black people during Bible study at a South Carolina church.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled late Monday that attorneys for Dylann Roof couldn’t present that evidence during the guilt phase of his trial.
Roof’s attorneys had wanted to put up evidence related to their client’s mental health. Gergel says he’s already ruled that kind of evidence is more appropriate for the penalty phase of Roof’s trial, where jurors would decide if he’s sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
Roof faces 33 federal charges including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion. Jurors began hearing the case against him last week.
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3:25 a.m.
Prosecutors could soon wrap up their case against the man accused of slaying nine black people during a Bible study at a South Carolina church.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson says he has about a dozen more witnesses to call in the prosecution of Dylann Roof.
Roof faces 33 federal charges including hate crimes in the June 2015 shootings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. His attorneys say Roof would be willing to plead guilty if prosecutors dropped their pursuit of the death penalty.
On Monday, agents testified they found a list of other local black churches in Roof’s car.
Prosecutors say they plan to call more law enforcement officers to testify, along with experts on cellphone evidence. Richardson says the last witness he’ll call is shooting survivor Polly Sheppard.
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