Judge orders Dylann Roof be transferred to federal prison
Convicted church killer Dylann Roof soon will be transferred to the federal government to await his execution, according to newly filed documents in court.
Roof – who turned 23 on Monday – has been held at the Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston County while he waited for his state trial. In that trial, Roof was set to face murder charges in the slayings of nine African-Americans in June 2015 at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
On Friday, however, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson announced Roof, a white supremacist from the Columbia area, would plead guilty on April 10. Roof already has been found guilty and sentenced to death in federal court for the slayings of the nine victims.
Until Friday, it remained unclear if the survivors and families of those killed would have to endure a second, likely highly emotional death penalty trial.
Once he pleads guilty, Roof will mostly likely be transferred to a high-security prison in Terre Haute, Ind., where federal death row is located, said Andy Savage, a Charleston lawyer who represents families of the victims as well as the three survivors.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel’s order, however, does not reveal Roof’s next destination. It does say, however, that the federal government is expected to return Roof to the Charleston County jail from time to time until his state trial comes to an end.
Roof signed a memorandum on March 24 consenting and waiving any objections to being placed in the custody of the federal government.
Staff writer John Monk contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Judge orders Dylann Roof be transferred to federal prison."