The judge in the Dylann Roof federal death penalty trial has denied a motion by attorneys to delay the trial.
Roof’s attorneys wanted to delay the trial because of the publicity surrounding the mistrial in a former police officer’s case. Roof’s lawyers filed the request Tuesday.
“The Court cannot respond to every breaking news story or development in the local court system by continuing a trial that has been scheduled since June 2016 or reopening comprehensive and completed voir dire,” US District Judge Richard Gergel stated Tuesday night.”The Court must maintain the orderly process of criminal trials.”
Jury selection is expected to start Wednesday in Charleston, where a mistrial was declared earlier this week for former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager.
The motion states the Slager mistrial, “declared less than 48 hours before the scheduled start of the trial in this case, is highly likely to create undue pressure on the jury to compensate for the judicial system’s apparent failure to punish Mr. Slager by imposing a harsher punishment here.”
Attorneys cite recent news articles and interviews that mention the Roof trial seemingly right along side the Slager trial, adding, “With the widely-held view that justice has not been served in the Slager trial…we have grave doubt whether the defendant can receive a fair trial.”
An order also filed on Tuesday states U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel denied a defense motion to strike the jury panel that has already been qualified. In the order, Gergel states on the same day he granted a defense motion to allow Roof’s standby counsel to be reinstated as his attorneys, the defense team filed a motion to strike the panel and redo individual voir dire, or interviews for prospective jurors, Roof’s attorneys made the request, the order states, because they felt Roof should not have been able to represent himself during the voir dire process and “frequently ignored the advice of his experienced [standby] counsel.”
“The argument essentially repackages the same arguments defense counsel previously raised while acting as Defendant’s standby counsel that the Court rejected,” Gergel said. “The jury selection process in this case has been searching, thorough, and fair.”
Roof’s attorneys say if U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel goes forward, he at least needs to question the jury pool extensively about their opinions in the Slager case.
Race plays a central role in both cases. Slager, who is white, shot and killed a black driver who fled a traffic stop.
Roof is charged with killing nine people at an African-American church in June 2015.
I remember first hearing about this case. I could not wrap my mind around someone going into a church and killing 9 people. It was beyond comprehension.
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I’ve had to block so many eggs trolls from following me since the Roof trial started. Nothing but sock puppet trolls. When they out themselves & they will…I’m going to block them too.
I was crying too. Tears streaming…
https://twitter.com/CarterCoyleWCSC/status/806604103019134976
https://twitter.com/A_Big_Gail/status/806523511841980420
I don’t believe a jobless, 9th grade drop out carried out and funded this massacre by himself or with his birthday money. Nah Nah Nah! Who made the bomb threat? Defense said it had nothing to do with Dylann Roof. And police didn’t investigate? How can that be?
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Did police ever find out who made the bomb threat?
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Sending prayers and supportive thoughts to all of the loved ones on the Emanuel Nine.
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I have family members and a young daughter who are devoted to attending Bible Study. My grandmother attended AME. My parents attended Baptist. My paternal grandpa (I never knew him) founded the AME church my maternal grandmother attended.
What a beautiful family spiritual heritage.
My maternal grandpa attended Baptist along with his brothers.
It is so good that you are keeping your family stories and experience alive for your family and friends.
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OMG! What? A victim can’t show emotion? Cry for her child? *tears
https://twitter.com/KRBolster/status/806581698683092996
Insane..
These heartless racists even want to control the natural emotions and grief …and stop their victims relatives grieving for the loved ones they murdered..
That’s what Ms Sanders saw. Pure evil.
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I can’t stop crying. Tears. Tears.
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‘You’re ‘raping’ our women…taking over *our* world’…
Aren’t those the exact sentiments that powered Trump…the slowly being normalized and mainstreamed and media-justified posture and rankings of Richard Spencer, Steve Bannon and his people at Breitbart, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand and the racist murderer Ronald Gasser he tried to get off…and mainstream racists like Joe Scarborough et al..
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Please God, give her strength
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https://twitter.com/NatJackTweets/status/806552525415546880
Prosecution incompetence and racial bias or both.
https://twitter.com/A_Big_Gail/status/806554221604700160
https://twitter.com/jmonkatthestate/status/806548474430947328
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She can cry and collapse for her evil murderer son, but the relatives of the victims murdered by her son can’t cry..?
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I believe with everything in me someone radicalized him. Where’d he get the money to fund the massacre? He had no job. A 9th grade drop out.
I saw my dad take his last breath after a heart attack & the image stayed in my mind. So painful. I can’t imagine seeing these gruesome pics.
https://twitter.com/CarterCoyleWCSC/status/806542070152384512
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Where is he going with this?
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God help me deal with my emotions. Dylann Roof is a savage beast from the pit of hell.
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Oh Jesus!
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Opening statements begins…
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