'Look at me boy!': Dylann Roof confronted by relatives of the church goers he murdered in last day of death penalty trial

  • Dylann Roof, 22, was convicted last month on 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of religion 
  • A jury has now sentenced him to receive the death penalty for the murders
  • On final day of death penalty trial, family members of victims got the chance to confront the killer
  • Some screamed, some offered forgiveness and one even offered to visit him in prison as the 22-year-old avowed white supremacist awaits the death sentence 
  • Roof, a white supremacist, is the first person to be sentenced to death for a federal hate crime

Dylann Roof stared straight ahead as he was confronted by the relatives of the church goers he brutally slaughtered, during the last day of death penalty trial.

One by one, family members of nine slain black parishioners got the chance to speak to the killer on the final day of his death penalty trial on Wednesday.

Some screamed, some offered forgiveness and one even offered to visit him in prison as the 22-year-old avowed white supremacist while he awaits his death sentence. 

'Dylann,' said Janet Scott, the aunt of 26-year-old Tywanza Sanders, the youngest victim killed in the massacre. 'Dylann! DYLANN!' she said, her voice rising as she demanded he look at her as she talked about her nephew's 'great big heart.'

'I wish you would look at me, boy.'

Dylann Roof (pictured in a file photo from 2015) stared straight ahead as he was confronted by the relatives of the church goers he brutally slaughtered, during the last day of death penalty trial 

The Rev. Spike Coleman pushes John Pinckney, father of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, one of the Emanuel Church shooting victims, as they leave leaves the U.S. District Court on Tuesday

One by one, family members of nine slain black parishioners got the chance to speak to the killer on the final day of his death penalty trial on Wednesday (family members leave the courthouse during a break at the Charleston Federal Courthouse on Tuesday)

The final statements came a day after jurors sentenced an unrepentant Roof to death. 

The gunman had one final opportunity to ask for mercy but instead told jurors he still 'felt like I had to do it.'

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel formally confirmed the sentence, saying 'This hate, this viciousness, this moral depravity will not go unanswered.'

Although family members testified at Roof's trial, the formal sentencing hearing gave them a chance to speak directly to him, without prosecutors or the judge interrupting or asking questions.

After four days of testimony, prosecutors rested their death penalty case Monday against Roof (sketch from trial above), calling more than two dozen people during the trial's penalty phase

Dylann Roof (above), 22, was convicted last month on 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of religion. The same jury that found him guilty decided to sentence Roof to death for the crime

Roof also had an opportunity to speak but declined to say anything. He is the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime.

Some of the relatives looked directly at Roof. Others chose to look at jurors, who did not have to be in court Wednesday but told the judge they wanted to attend.

Sheila Capers, the sister-in-law of Cynthia Hurd, said she prayed for Roof's soul to be saved.

'If at any point before you are sentenced and you're in prison and you want me to come and pray with you, I will do that,' Capers said.

Felicia Sanders, who survived the attack, said she forgave Roof, echoing comments she made after the shooting. But, she noted, Roof did nothing to save himself.

He served as his own attorney during the sentencing phase and never explained the massacre or asked for his life to be spared.

Sanders brought the bullet-torn, bloodstained Bible she had with her on the night of the June 17, 2015. She told Roof he still lives in her head, and that when she hears a balloon pop or fireworks, it returns her to that night.

Melvin Graham (pictured), the brother of Cynthia Hurd, said he believes the death penalty was the right decision - albeit a hollow one

Some screamed, some offered forgiveness and one even offered to visit Roof in prison as the 22-year-old avowed white supremacist awaits the death sentence  (Jennifer Pinckney, widow of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, leaves the U.S. District Court with family friend Kylon Middleton on Tuesday)

'Most importantly, I can't shut my eyes to pray,' Sanders said.

On the night of the shooting, Roof sat through a 45-minute Bible study session at the black church known as Mother Emanuel with 12 others.

He opened fire as they stood and closed their eyes for a final prayer. In all, he fired 77 shots. Each victim was hit at least five times.

Three people survived. Roof told one of them he was sparing her life so she could tell the world he was killing the worshipers at Emanuel AME because he hated black people.

The willingness of some of the relatives to forgive the gunman was widely discussed in the days after the killings. But that did not mean they felt his life should be spared. And there are others who said forgiveness is still a work in progress.

The victims who died the shooting are pictured above: Top (L-R) DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Myrah Thompson. Center (L-R): Ethel Lance, Susie Jackson, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton. Bottom (L-R): Daniel Simmons, Clementa Pinckney and Cynthia Hurd

The van carrying Dylann Roof leaves the U.S. District Court on Tuesday after an unrepentant Roof was sentenced to death

'You are Satan. Instead of a heart, you have a cold, dark space,' Gracyn Doctor, the daughter of DePayne Middleton-Doctor, said, expressing hope that Roof would 'go straight to hell.'

When he was arrested, Roof told FBI agents that he wanted the shootings to bring back segregation or perhaps start a race war. 

Instead, the slayings had a unifying effect as South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its Statehouse for the first time in more than 50 years. 

Other states followed suit, taking down Confederate banners and monuments. Roof had posed with the flag in photos.

The jury convicted Roof last month of all 33 federal charges he faced. He insisted he was not mentally ill and did not call any witnesses or present any evidence.

Roof, who also faces murder charges in state court, plans to appeal the federal case. Prosecutors say he will remain jailed in Charleston until the state charges are resolved. No trial date has been set. 

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