CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. — A federal judge ruled Friday that alleged Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof is mentally competent to stand trial.
Jury selection is expected to resume in federal court in Charleston Monday, according to U.S. Judge Richard Gergel’s order.
The decision comes after two days of closed-door competency hearings, where Gergel received “testimony and voluminous documents.” Those who testified included court-appointed examiner James Ballenger, who assessed Roof’s competency, four witnesses and the sworn statements by three others.
To be found competent, Roof needed the “capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him, to consult with counsel, and to assist in preparing his defense.”
Roof, 22, a self-described white supremacist from the Columbia area, is accused of driving to Charleston to kill African-Americans to “incite racial tensions across the nation.” Roof allegedly killed nine people, including church pastor and state Sen. Clementa Pinckney.
Picking 12 jurors is expected to be long and tedious. Jurors have to be capable of determining Roof’s guilt. If they find him guilty, jurors would then have to decide if Roof should be put to death or spend life in prison.
Roof’s lawyers said in the past that Roof would plead guilty if he could be sentenced to life in prison. They are expected to focus on saving Roof from the death penalty.
In a federal death penalty case, a jury’s unanimous vote for death is binding. Gergel would then formally impose the sentence. Gergel has ordered 20 prospective jurors to report for questioning each day until a total of 70 potential jurors are found to be qualified. The pool of potential jurors is 512 people.