Supreme Court denies Dylann Roof’s death penalty appeal

A federal court denied his initial appeal last year

Charleston Church Shooting (Grace Beahm)

The Supreme Court has denied an appeal by Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, who killed nine members of a Black church in 2015.

Roof pleaded guilty in 2017 and was given nine consecutive life sentences. He was later tried and convicted in federal court for committing hate crimes, and became the first US citizen to be sentenced to death for a federal hate crime.

Roof and his attorneys tried to appeal the ruling last year, but their request was denied. A panel of federal judges in that ruling said the legal record could not appropriately capture the "full horror" of Roof's actions.

The Associated Press reports that Roof wanted the Supreme Court to make a ruling on whether or not attorneys can bring evidence questioning their client's mental health into a trial without the client's consent.

Roof fired his legal team and represented himself during the sentencing phase of the trial. According to the AP, he took over in an attempt to block evidence that would paint him as mentally ill.

The justices ultimately chose not to comment on the appeal attempt. The court did not provide an explanation for passing on the case.

Roof’s legal team previously attempted to convince a panel of judges that the prosecution’s justification for seeking the death penalty was built on the idea of the victims’ “goodness and worth.”

The defense argued that the prosecution’s argument used the “religiosity” of the victims to show their “heightened worth” during sentencing. The panel was not convinced and Roof’s sentence was left in tact.

In the mean time, Roof is being held on death row in the federal maximum security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. The federal execution chamber is housed at the site.

Roof, now 28, shot and killed nine people attending a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.