CrimeCrimedylann roof death penaltyDeath Penalty

Yet Another Hint That A Death Penalty Trial For Dylann Roof Is Likely

Yet Another Hint That A Death Penalty Trial For Dylann Roof Is Likely
Kim Bellware
By 

Reporter, HuffPost

Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C., Thursday, June 18, 2015. Roof is a suspect in the shooting of several people Wednesday night at the historic The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C., Thursday, June 18, 2015. Roof is a suspect in the shooting of several people Wednesday night at the historic The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

A recent court filing is the latest hint that suspected Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof will have a capital trial.

"Potential death penalty case” were the words on top of the filing by attorney Boyd Young with the Charleston County clerk of court’s office earlier this week, The State reports.

Young's filing was to give the court notice that he will represent Roof in his upcoming murder trial. Young is an attorney with the South Carolina Commission On Indigent Defense, a state-funded agency created to represent low-income clients. He serves as the deputy chief attorney for the division of the agency that handles death penalty cases.

It was unclear exactly when Young started representing Roof; he released at least two statements on behalf of the Roof family, the first coming just two days after last month's shooting.

The Huffington Post's calls to Young's office were not immediately returned.

Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson has not said publicly whether she will seek the death penalty in Roof's case. Wilson's office would neither confirm if she had reached a decision, nor when it might be announced. Wilson could weigh factors like community sentiment and the wishes of the victims’ families in her decision, according to The State.

Roof was indicted Tuesday on nine counts of murder for the June 17 massacre of black church members at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Wilson successfully sought three additional counts of attempted murder against Roof for the victims who survived.

Under South Carolina law, a convicted murderer is eligible for the death penalty if "two or more persons were murdered by the defendant by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct."

If Roof were to have a capital trial, a death sentence is still not guaranteed: If found guilty, he would go through a separate sentencing phase in which the jury would have to unanimously decide to sentence him to death.

South Carolina is one of 31 death penalty states in the U.S., and has lethal injection and the electric chair as execution methods.

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Crimedylann roof death penaltyDeath Penalty

Before You Go

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Olina Ortega, left, and Austin Gibbs light candles at a sidewalk memorial in front of Emanuel AME Church where people were killed by a white gunman Wednesday during a prayer meeting inside the historic black church in Charleston, S.C., Thursday, June 18, 2015.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Betty Maddox, of Conyers, Ga., sings at the interfaith prayer vigil at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Thursday, June 18, 2015.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mourners gather at Marion Square for a candlelight vigil, Thursday, June 18, 2015, near the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, was arrested Thursday in the slayings of several people, including the pastor at a prayer meeting inside the historic black church.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images
People participate in a candle light vigil at Marion Square near the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 18, 2015.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An emotional Senate staffer Travis Norton, right, joins other staff members and members of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 18, 2015, during a vigil to mourn the shooting victims of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., and other members of Congress, attends a prayer vigil on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 18, 2015, to mourn the shooting victims of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.
Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier via AP
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott bows his head in prayer during a prayer vigil held at Morris Brown AME Church in NYC for the victims of Wednesday's shooting at Emanuel AME Church on Thursday, June 18, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rev. Jeannie Smalls cries during a prayer vigil held at Morris Brown AME Church in New York City for the victims of Wednesday's shooting at Emanuel AME Church on Thursday, June 18, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier via AP
Hands are raised during a prayer vigil held at Morris Brown AME Church in New York City for the victims of Wednesday's shooting at Emanuel AME Church on Thursday, June 18, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier via AP
The crowd applauds during a prayer vigil held at Morris Brown AME Church in New York City for the victims of Wednesday's shooting at Emanuel AME Church on Thursday, June 18, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Those gathered at the prayer vigil at Morris Brown AME Episcopal Church sing a hymn together in Charleston, South Carolina.
Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier via AP
From left, Reverend Richard Harkness holds hands with Reverend Jack Lewin during a prayer vigil held at Morris Brown AME Church in New York City for the victims of Wednesday's shooting at Emanuel AME Church on Thursday, June 18, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Members of the public filled the Morris Brown AME Church to capacity in downtown Charleston Thursday afternoon for a prayer vigil.
Eric Thayer via Getty Images
Mourners hold a prayer vigil for the nine victims of last night's shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 18, 2015 at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church: Bethel in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
Eric Thayer via Getty Images
Mourners hold a prayer vigil for the nine victims of last night's shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 18, 2015 at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church: Bethel in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
Eric Thayer via Getty Images
Mourners hold a prayer vigil for the nine victims of last night's shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 18, 2015 at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church: Bethel in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
Eric Thayer via Getty Images
Clergy leaders and other mourners march during a prayer vigil for the nine victims of last night's shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 18, 2015 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
DON EMMERT via Getty Images
Mourners gather in Union Square Park June 18, 2015 in New York in to remember those killed at a prayer meeting in Charleston, South Carolina.
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