Federal judge delays trial for accused Charleston church shooting suspect

A federal judge in Charleston on Thursday granted yet another continuance in setting a trial date for Dylann Roof, the accused killer in the Charleston church slayings last summer.

U.S. Assistant Attorney Jay Richardson indicated to Judge Richard Gergel that the government would have a decision on whether it will seek the death penalty against Roof possibly by early April.

A lack of a decision so far has been a major stumbling block in setting a court date. But Richardson said the U.S. Department of Justice is far along in that decision-making process.

Roof’s attorney, David Bruck, told Gergel a trial could easily be avoided if the government decides not to seek the death penalty.

“He (Roof) has offered to plead guilty – everybody knows that,” Bruck told Gergel. “The only obstacle is whether the government will insist on the death penalty.”

If the government chooses to go for the death penalty, there likely would be a two-stage trial. The first stage would be a lengthy process in which the government would present evidence about Roof’s guilt, while Bruck and his defense lawyers would present opposing evidence. The jury would then deliver a verdict on whether Roof is guilty.

If he is found guilty, the second stage of the trial would begin, and the jury would deliberate on whether Roof should be sentenced to death or given a life sentence without parole. A death penalty trial could last for several months and be very costly.

If Roof were to plead guilty, however, there likely would be a relatively short, non-jury hearing, with the judge sentencing Roof to life in prison without parole.

In a federal indictment handed down last summer, Roof was charged with the hate crime slayings of nine African-Americans at Mother Emmanuel Church AME Church in downtown Charleston on June 17. Roof, 21, an avowed white supremacist, is from Columbia. Survivors told police he sat through an hour-long bible study, then opened fire, killing nine of the 12 people there.

The federal government’s delay in issuing a decision means it is more likely than ever that the state prosecutor, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, will try Roof first. She is seeking the death penalty in state court. That trial is scheduled to begin in early July.

Richardson told Gergel the federal government announce a decision as early as February – or as late as June.

In any case, Gergel was not pleased. At the December hearing, he told Richardson that Roof’s defense team is preparing for a death penalty case and on a weekly basis are submitting bills for costs incurred with the case, which are considerably more expensive than a regular case.

If the federal government is not going to seek the death penalty, the money being spent on Roof’s death penalty defense “is wasteful,” Gergel said. “We have finite resources.”

Roof, 21, has qualified as an indigent defendant, and his legal bills – the size of which has not yet been made public – are paid for by taxpayers. He waived his right to appear in court.

Also in December, Bruck told the judge that his client is ready to plead guilty immediately if the government does not seek the death penalty.

“The court is aware this case could be concluded very, very quickly – it’s a question of the death penalty,” Bruck told Gergel in December.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Federal judge delays trial for accused Charleston church shooting suspect."