The Justice Department will seek the death penalty in the case of confessed Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, according to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
“Following the department’s rigorous review process to thoroughly consider all relevant factual and legal issues, I have determined that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty. The nature of the alleged crime and the resulting harm compelled this decision,” Lynch said in a statement.
Roof is accused of massacring nine people at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, in July 2015. He is charged with 33 federal offenses, including hate crime charges for allegedly targeting his victims on the basis of their race and religion. State authorities have already said they will seek the death penalty in their separate case against Roof.
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