Nine People Killed in Charleston Church Shooting; Massacre Suspect Dylann Storm Roof Arrested

Federal trial for accused Charleston church gunman delayed again as death penalty decision looms

By Mark Berman April 5 at 4:19 PM

Authorities on Tuesday again delayed the trial of the man accused of killing nine African Americans at a Charleston, S.C., church last year as the Justice Department continues to weigh whether to seek a death sentence in the case.

District Judge Richard M. Gergel told federal prosecutors to make a decision soon so he could set a trial date, arguing that the relatives of those slain “have a right to put this behind them,” according to Reuters.

But Gergel agreed to a request from federal prosecutors to delay the trial of Dylann Roof, the accused gunman, to allow Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to make a decision about whether to seek a death sentence. The trial was also postponed earlier this year due to this unanswered question, as Roof’s attorneys said they could not be ready for the trial until the death penalty decision was made.

Read more:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/04/05/federal-trial-for-accused-charleston-church-gunman-delayed-again-as-death-penalty-decision-looms/

Dylann Roof friend Joey Meek to plead guilty, testify in Charleston church shooting

Andrew Knapp

Published: Apr 25 2016 1:44 pm 
Updated: Apr 26 12:22 am


Meek

Seeking a lighter sentence, a friend of Dylann Roof’s has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges and testify against the man accused of the deadly mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church, an agreement stated Monday.

Joey Meek, 21, failed to warn authorities of Roof’s plot to carry out the alleged hate crime and later lied to agents investigating it, federal officials have said.

With the agreement that he and prosecutors signed, the Lexington County man admitted guilt to counts of misprision — or withholding details before a crime happens — and making false statements after the June 17 attack in downtown Charleston. He and Roof, 22, had been close since childhood but rekindled their friendship before nine black parishioners were slain during a Bible study.

Read more:

http://www.postandcourier.com/20160425/160429599/dylann-roof-friend-joey-meek-to-plead-guilty-testify-in-charleston-church-shooting

Family Members of SC Church Massacre Victims Upset With Donation Payout

Several family members of the nine people who lost their lives in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church massacre in Charleston, S.C., were angered to learn that they would have to divide $1.5 million in donations, while the church keeps $1.8 million.  

By: Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
Posted: May 9 2016 3:54 PM

The families of the nine people killed in the mass shooting inside a Charleston, S.C., church last year aren't pleased with the distribution of donations the church has received since the June 17 shooting.

The wife of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the South Carolina state senator and Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church pastor who was among those killed in the massacre, has not received any of the donation proceeds, according to her attorney.

"They've not contacted me at all," her attorney, South Carolina state Sen. Gerald Malloy, told the Post and Courier.

According to the Post and Courier, the church has given the families of the victims some $1.5 million that it's received and is keeping around $1.8 million, with plans to make long-needed repairs to the church. The church also plans to create an endowment, a memorial and scholarships, and $78,000 will go to the Charleston Hope Fund.

Since many who donated didn't specify where their donations should go, church leaders decided how the money would be divided.

Read more:

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2016/05/family_members_of_sc_church_massacre_victims_upset_with_donation_payout.html?

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Emanuel AME distributes donations to shooting victims’ families

Jennifer Berry Hawes
Published: May 6 2016 3:39 pm 
Updated: May 6 3:51 pm

Emanuel AME Church distributed $1.5 million in donations this week to families of the nine victims and survivors of the horrific mass shooting on June 17 in its fellowship hall.

The church kept about $1.8 million of the donations it received from an international outpouring of sympathy after the deaths.

Church leaders have said the vast majority of donations sent to Emanuel AME didn’t specify where the money should go. Therefore, church leaders opted to give family members and survivors more than $1 million in addition to roughly $280,000 that donors specified for them.

However, many family members were angered that the church kept more of the donations than it divided up among the nine families and five survivors.


Read more:

http://www.postandcourier.com/20160506/160509534/emanuel-ame-distributes-donations-to-shooting-victims-families

U.S. to seek death penalty against accused South Carolina church shooter

Reuters
59 minutes ago

CHARLESTON, S.C., May 24 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a white man accused of killing nine black parishioners in a racially motivated attack at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, last June, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

"The nature of the alleged crime and the resulting harm compelled this decision," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement.

Dylann Roof, 22, is accused of opening fire on June 17, 2015, during Bible study at Charleston's historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in a massacre that shook the country and intensified debate over U.S. race relations.

He faces 33 federal charges, including hate crimes, obstruction of religion and firearms offenses.

Read more:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-to-seek-death-penalty-against-accused-south-carolina-church-shooter/ar-BBtqKx4?li=BBnbcA1

September 15, 2016 10:45 PM

Fear of more rules, desire for longer waiting period dominate gun forum



Hundreds attend legislative hearing on potential gun reform in Greenville. By Cynthia Roldán  croldan@thestate.com

GREENVILLE, SC  — The widow of the state senator who was gunned down along with eight of his parishioners at a Charleston church last year was the first of about 50 speakers who shared their views Thursday on whether legislators should tighten the state’s law governing background checks.

Jennifer Pinckney, widow of fallen Sen. Clementa Pinckney, said expanding the background check law from the current three-day waiting period to 28 days is reasonable.

“We know that the man who killed my husband should have not been able to buy the gun that was used to kill him,” Pinckney said. “It was human error that permitted that purchase that happened. But it was a law that limited the amount of time for record review that allowed an oversight to become a fatality.”

She was referring to a drug charge faced by the alleged gunman, Dylann Roof of Columbia, that did not turn up in an FBI check because a local clerk entered the information improperly. Roof was allowed to buy the gun after three days when the FBI did not object.

Read more:

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article102154162.html#storylink=cpy