Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof to plead guilty in state murder case

Roof, 22, was sentenced to death in January in a federal hate crimes case.

ByABC News
March 31, 2017, 12:07 PM

— -- Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof will plead guilty to state murder charges instead of going through a second trial, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said today.

Wilson told ABC News this morning that a plea has been reached in Roof's state case, in which he is accused of nine murders, but said she will not release details about the plea agreement until the court hearing, which is set for April 10 at 1 p.m.

In an email sent to victims' family members today, Wilson wrote, "The plea is negotiated which means it is 'carved in stone.'"

PHOTO: Sharon Risher, 2nd from right, and Gary Washington, left, pay their respects at the casket of their mother, Ethel Lance, 70, before her burial at the AME Church cemetery, June 25, 2015, in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Sharon Risher, 2nd from right, and Gary Washington, left, pay their respects at the casket of their mother, Ethel Lance, 70, before her burial at the AME Church cemetery, June 25, 2015, in North Charleston, South Carolina. Lance was one of nine people shot to death inside Mother Emanuel AME Church.

Wilson told The Associated Press that Roof's guilty plea in state court will be in exchange for a life sentence in prison, avoiding a potential second death sentence.

It also allows Roof, who has been in the Charleston County jail awaiting the state trial, to be transferred to federal custody, the AP reported.

PHOTO: Police lead suspected shooter Dylann Roof into the courthouse, June 18, 2015, in Shelby, North Carolina.
Police lead suspected shooter Dylann Roof into the courthouse, June 18, 2015, in Shelby, North Carolina.

In the email to victims' family members, Wilson wrote, "Our goal is to provide an insurance policy to the federal conviction and sentence. The most effective way to do that is to secure a guilty plea for a life sentence and get the defendant into federal custody."

PHOTO: Brandon Risher, left, is comforted beside the casket of his grandmother, Ethel Lance, 70, one of nine victims of a mass shooting at the Emanuel AME Church, June 25, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Brandon Risher, left, is comforted beside the casket of his grandmother, Ethel Lance, 70, one of nine victims of a mass shooting at the Emanuel AME Church, before she is buried at the church cemetery, June 25, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Roof, 22, was sentenced to death in January on federal hate crimes charges for killing nine black churchgoers at a Bible study session in Charleston, South Carolina, in June 2015.

The emotional federal trial included testimony from two women who survived Roof's rampage.

Roof's sentencing marked the first time a death penalty verdict was rendered in a federal hate crimes case, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

PHOTO: A church youth group from Dothan, Alabama prays in front of the Emanuel AME Church on the one-month anniversary of the mass shooting, July 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina.
A church youth group from Dothan, Alabama prays in front of the Emanuel AME Church on the one-month anniversary of the mass shooting, July 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylann Roof was convicted for the killing of nine church members.

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