Roof to face trial in a year; gag order stays (+ video)
State Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson on Thursday set a tentative trial date of July 11, 2016, for Dylann Roof, who is accused of opening fire last month on parishioners attending a Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, killing nine of them in a racially motivated attack.
During a 24-minute hearing, one of Roof’s defense attorneys, Ashley Pennington, told the judge there were no issues at this time regarding Roof's mental competence to stand trial.
“Mr. Roof has received a GED,” Pennington said, referring to a high school equivalency degree. “He reads, he writes, he is able to communicate.”
Roof, 21, who appeared in court, sat quietly between Pennington and another defense attorney, Bill McGuire. Roof wore a light gray striped jail uniform and was shackled at the wrists and ankles. McGuire is the chief death penalty attorney for the S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense.
None of Roof’s family members, who live in the Columbia area, were present at the hearing, held in a courtroom on the fourth floor of the Charleston County courthouse.
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson told the judge although this is a potential death penalty case, she has reached no decision on whether to seek the death penalty against Roof.
During the hearing, Wilson formally served Roof with copies of the indictments against him. They include nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
With respect to a temporary gag order that Nicholson issued last week, the judge said he is keeping the order in place and giving all interested parties until next Wednesday at 5 p.m. to file their concerns about the release of any pretrial information to the media.
About 15 relatives of the victims in the case that shook the city, the state and the country sat quietly in the front row. They left without speaking to reporters.
Federal law enforcement officials have indicated they may be filing charges against Roof, but they have not yet done so.
Columbia defense attorney Johnny Gasser, who has prosecuted eight death penalty cases in state and federal court and is not affiliated with this case, said the judge’s proposed trial date of July 11, 2016, could well be a realistic start date.
However, if the case turns into a death penalty case, it might be that expert witnesses who might be called to assess Roof’s mental state during the time leading up to the commission of the crime, and during the crime itself, need more time, Gasser said.
In a sweeping gag order last week, the judge prohibited the release of virtually all information pertaining to the case to news media. The judge said he was concerned about publicity tainting any future jury. His order also prohibits all people involved in the case, including potential witnesses, from speaking to news media.
However, Nicholson said Thursday that his order is only temporary, and he has no interest in making it permanent unless good cause can be shown by any one of three interested parties: law enforcement, including federal agencies, the victims’ families and the defense counsel for Roof.
If no interested party objects to the release of information, Nicholson said, “The gag order will dissolve.” He added he “has no desire or any inclination to (stop) anybody from releasing anything to the public.”
So far, Nicholson said, “the court does not think pre-trial publicity is a problem.” But Freedom of Information Act requests, including several from The State newspaper, were pending with law enforcement and judicial officials when the judge instituted his order.
Nicholson indicated he was especially concerned about two items of evidence being made public before trial: any 911 tapes made during the shooting that might contain sounds of the gunfire and any crime scene photographs of the victims.
Lawyers for six news media organizations, including The State, were in the courtroom, prepared to argue that the judge’s gag order should lifted. Nicholson said any arguments they had could come at a later hearing if other “interested parties” file briefs asking for restrictions on information.
The other organizations are The Post & Courier, the Associated Press, the S.C. Press Association, ABC News and WCIV-TV.
“If anyone does oppose our position that there should not be a gag order, we will address it at that time,” said Taylor Smith, a Charleston attorney representing the media groups. “Today was not a bad outcome, but it was not the outcome we wanted.”
Roof, of Columbia, an alleged white supremacist who wanted to start a race war, is the only suspect in what is the most publicized crime in decades in South Carolina.
One of the victims was state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, a respected and well-liked member of the South Carolina Legislature. Pinckney was also pastor of “Mother” Emanuel, the state’s oldest AME church .
Roof’s first hearing, a bond appearance on June 19, two days after the shootings, made national news because relatives of the victims spoke publicly, telling Roof their Christian faith led them to forgive him.
Those public and unexpected acts of forgiveness were the catalyst for Gov. Nikki Haley to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from its position of honor on the State House grounds. The flag has long been used by white supremacists and segregationists to send a message to blacks that they are second-class citizens. It is also revered by others for commemorating the bravery of Confederate soldiers.
After the Charleston killings on June 19, and the discovery on Roof’s alleged website that the Confederate flag provided inspiration for the church killings, white heritage groups lost their power over most members of the General Assembly, who voted to take the flag down. It was removed July 10 in an event attended by a cheering crowd of thousands.
Roof, 21, grew up in Columbia and attended public schools in Lexington and Richland counties and apparently didn’t get beyond ninth grade. Law officers are exploring how he came by his extreme white supremacist views.
Sources have told The State that law enforcement investigations into Roof have expanded and that his friends and associates might now be targets.
Rep. Bernstein to file gun bill
State Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Richland, said Thursday she will prefile a bill for next year’s General Assembly that would prevent licensed gun dealers from selling a gun unless they get a clear OK from the FBI after a criminal and judicial background check of the purchaser.
Such background checks are done at gun stores during purchases and normally take just a few minutes. Store operators use a computer or telephone to communicate with FBI databases.
In a small minority of cases, the FBI will tell the dealer to delay the purchase. In that case, the gun store operator has the right to sell the gun to the purchaser after three days have passed, even if the gun store has not gotten a final OK from the FBI.
Bernstein’s bill would eliminate the three-day waiting period and require all gun sales in South Carolina to get an OK from the FBI.
Her bill is the same as one filed earlier this week in the U.S. House of Representatives by S.C. Rep. Jim Clyburn. If passed, Clyburn’s bill would apply nationwide.
The alleged shooter in the Charleston church massacre was able to buy a gun at a West Columbia gun store after the FBI did not respond within three days. The agency took the blame, saying a police report from an earlier arrest of Roof was misfiled.
This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 10:00 AM.