Dylann Roof's Final Word to Jury: 'I Had to Do It'

He does not ask jurors to spare his life
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 10, 2017 12:59 PM CST
Dylann Roof Does Not Ask Jury to Spare Life
In this June 18, 2015 file photo, Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C.   (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

Dylann Roof continued to show no remorse for killing nine black men and women at a Charleston church in 2015, nor did he ask the jury to spare his life during his final argument to jurors Tuesday. During his speech, which lasted about five minutes, Roof said he didn't know "what good it would do" to ask for life in prison rather than the death penalty, though he did say prosecutors showed hatred by seeking his execution, the AP reports. Roof, 22, said of his racist beliefs, "Anyone who hates anything in their mind has a good reason for it," adding, of the shooting, "I still feel like I had to do it." Jury deliberations begin Tuesday afternoon. (More Dylann Roof stories.)

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