Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof was sentenced to death on 33 federal counts earlier this year. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
Charleston, S.C. (AP) — Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof has been given nine life sentences for the 2015 massacre at Emanuel AME Church in exchange for his guilty plea in state court.
The plea entered Monday, April 10, by the self-avowed white supremacist marks the end of his court cases and signals his departure for the federal prison system, where he’ll await execution.
The deal with state prosecutors spared his victims and their families the burden of a second trial.
The 23-year-old Roof was sentenced to death earlier this year on 33 federal crimes. He was unapologetic during that trial as he listened to survivors and relatives describe the hail of bullets that began when parishioners closed their eyes to pray during a June 2015 Bible study at the historically Black church.
