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Mass Murderer Dylan Roof will be his own lawyer for the trial

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Matty77

Member
Par for the course. I have often wondered considering the amount of cases like this that this happens if it's less of a desire to be their own lawyer and more that the most a lawyer will do in a case like this is try for no death penalty.

No lawyer worth his salt even a crooked one is going to defend on a not guilty plea for these kind of cases, they will either urge plea or go to trial based on defending for no death penalty in sentencing.

That's what I have noticed after 30 years of following true crime, the only exception being when the defendant is previously famous, powerful, or rich, usually a combo of the three.
 

Wereroku

Member
I'm glad his white supremacist website/manifesto was found and his insanity plea was ruined. White supremacists on Twitter were piiiiiiissed about that.
Last night npr was talking about how the insanity defense was why he wanted to defend himself. That was his lawyers idea and he didn't agree with it.
 
Relatively short. Could get time knocked off for good behavior once in as well.

Don't have much faith.

That's not how it works in America. As soon as he is found guilty for one, he will be for all others and that will stack multiple 50+ year sentences on him at the very least, without possibility for release. Most likely he gets the death sentence though.
 

Violet_0

Banned
I don't know how much of that is hyperbole or (justified) bitterness but him getting a light sentence or even being pardoned is not realistic at all
 

hie

Member
I don't care how far gone some of you people think America is. He killed 8 people. His best case scenario will be not getting the death penalty. He will never get out of prison. That's a fact.
 

Grym

Member
I don't know how much of that is hyperbole or (justified) bitterness but him getting a light sentence or even being pardoned is not realistic at all

Mine, (pardoned), is just bitterness/hyperbole. This guy will likely get the death penalty
 

TheYanger

Member
The judge can shut this stuff down though. The judge can hold him in contempt and can probably even revoke his right to self-represent if he decides to just spew irrelevant, racist rhetoric. The court doesn't have to tolerate his attempts to turn his pro se status into a platform just because he has a right to represent himself.

Oh and I fully expect it to happen, it's still more than he would have otherwise.
 

smokeymicpot

Beat EviLore at pool.
I don't care how far gone some of you people think America is. He killed 8 people. His best case scenario will be not getting the death penalty. He will never get out of prison. That's a fact.

Just makes no sense why people are saying that? I get it our system fucked up on times but this is just for two things. Death penalty or not.
 

Enzom21

Member
I don't care how far gone some of you people think America is. He killed 8 people. His best case scenario will be not getting the death penalty. He will never get out of prison. That's a fact.

Far gone? I would imagine people are basing their opinion of the outcome on the history of this country and its treatment of black victims.
The truth of the matter is, he is a white man who killed 8 black people, that will garner some sympathy from certain people in this country.
Some of those people took him to get Burger King after the murders. Killing us negroes creates quite an appetite... apparently.
 

Apt101

Member
I don't see someone who coldly executed nine people in the name of racial hatred not getting the death penalty in South Carolina. Him representing himself is just going to amount to a bit of theater prior to the inevitable.
 

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
He'll deliver some claptrap about how America let him down and Trump supporters and their defenders will eat it up. He'll get a relatively short sentence and be treated like a star by the Aryan brotherhood in prison, then kill again after he gets out.

None or little of this will happen. He will die in prison one way or another. Aryan Brotherhood will treat him like the punk bitch that he is, and he will be relegated to solitary for hours own safety until the state kills him or old age.
 

Xyrmellon

Member
He's an uneducated hillbilly, any attempt to grandstand and make a social statement will immediately get shut down by the prosecutor and judge.
 

BADMAN

Member
Give him life without parole.

His fellow inmates will likely give him a much more painful death than the chair.
 

Xe4

Banned
Give him life without parole.

His fellow inmates will likely give him a much more painful death than the chair.
If he gets life, he's probably getting solitary too, for his own protection, if nothing else.

Chances are though, he's going to get the death penalty.
 

hie

Member
Far gone? I would imagine people are basing their opinion of the outcome on the history of this country and its treatment of black victims.
The truth of the matter is, he is a white man who killed 8 black people, that will garner some sympathy from certain people in this country.
Some of those people took him to get Burger King after the murders. Killing us negroes creates quite an appetite... apparently.

If this was a cop...maybe, but still very doubtful. I'm well aware of our issues, but can you tell me of a situation where someone murdered 8 PEOPLE...of any color..and got a "light" sentence? I'm genuinely curious. Tensions are high for great reason, but there is no way this crime gets a hand wave.
 

entremet

Member
Far gone? I would imagine people are basing their opinion of the outcome on the history of this country and its treatment of black victims.
The truth of the matter is, he is a white man who killed 8 black people, that will garner some sympathy from certain people in this country.
Some of those people took him to get Burger King after the murders. Killing us negroes creates quite an appetite... apparently.
I get the skepticism, but this is open and shut.

It's really a case of death penalty or not.
 
If he gets life, he's probably getting solitary too, for his own protection, if nothing else.

Chances are though, he's going to get the death penalty.

Not just any solitary, if he got life in prison I would imagine it would be in ADX Florence which is probably one of the closest things to hell on earth. But, yeah he is more likely than not getting the death penalty.
 
How do you even defend yourself in this situation? What kind of evidence could you POSSIBLY provide that gives justification for killing 8 unarmed people?

He's either going for a full on insanity plea and doesn't want the lawyers butting in or he is literally going to try and Atticus Finch soapbox his way out of it. Only in this case it's going to be super awful and racist and probably hilarious to boot. I can only hope he gets a black judge and majority jury; they can just let him hang himself right there in the courtroom.
 

Hazmat

Member
Watch Trump pardon this guy

This isn't helpful. Trump isn't going to pardon someone who shot up a black church. Hate him all you want (I do), but he's more of a strip-away-voting-rights and don't-rent-to-them racist. Still awful, but get some perspective.
 

Ryzaki009

Member
He's getting either life or death.

They're not gonna let him walk. It'd just be too blatant. They don't have that "feared for his life!" to hide behind.
 
This country?

High.

Especially with some control over his jury.

If by this country you mean America, he's guaranteed life in prison or death with the odds favoring death especially since he's representing himself. Unless that's your idea of a light sentence then I would like to know what a heavy sentence is.
 

entremet

Member
This isn't helpful. Trump isn't going to pardon someone who shot up a black church. Hate him all you want (I do), but he's more of a strip-away-voting-rights and don't-rent-to-them racist. Still awful, but get some perspective.
Exactly.
 

NandoGip

Member
If by this country you mean America, he's guaranteed life in prison or death with the odds favoring death especially since he's representing himself. Unless that's your idea of a light sentence then I would like to know what a heavy sentence is.

Megadeath and death to your reincarnation
 

n0razi

Member
This isn't helpful. Trump isn't going to pardon someone who shot up a black church. Hate him all you want (I do), but he's more of a strip-away-voting-rights and don't-rent-to-them racist. Still awful, but get some perspective.


It has nothing to do with what Trump thinks.. and everything to do with the people he surrounds himself with and the advice he takes from them
 

Enzom21

Member
If this was a cop...maybe, but still very doubtful. I'm well aware of our issues, but can you tell me of a situation where someone murdered 8 PEOPLE...of any color..and got a "light" sentence? I'm genuinely curious. Tensions are high for great reason, but there is no way this crime gets a hand wave.

I didn't say that it would happen, I explained why it wouldn't be surprising if it did.
As far as the light sentence thing. Recently, no. Historically, absolutely.
 
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