Lawyer in church shooting case calls prosecutor reckless


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — An attorney defending the man accused of fatally shooting nine black parishioners in Charleston, South Carolina, says a state prosecutor is making reckless misstatements by implying a federal death sentence might not be carried out.

Twenty-two-year-old Dylann Roof faces death penalty trials in state and federal courts in the shooting deaths of the parishioners at Emanuel AME Church a year ago.

Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson wants a judge to set the state trial before the federal trial. She notes the last federal execution was 13 years ago and the state has no confidence a federal death sentence would be carried out.

Attorney David Bruck says Wilson's position could mislead potential federal jurors to believe that their sentencing verdict would have no effect.

___

This story has been edited to restore Roof's first name, Dylann.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast