Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-prosecutors-seek-death-penalty-south-carolina-church-212459180.html
Many heard the news of the shooting in a Charleston, South Carolina church that killed nine African American parishioners last June. The shooter was a white man, Dylan Roof, with a racially charged motive. At the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June, 17, 2015, Roof opened fire during a Bible study. He is now charged with 33 crimes. Today, prosecutors are delaying the trial in order to figure out wether or not they should seek the death penalty. If they decide to not ask for the death penalty, defense attorneys have stated that Roof will plead guilty.
This is a very complex issue. I personally do not believe that death is a just punishment for the murder of 9. Death for death does not solve anything. There is even controversy within the families of the victims. One son of one of the murdered parishioners made the assertion that his death would make a good statement that America does not stand for this behavior. Another family member of another victim stated the opposite; he felt that the Roof's death wasn't just and, because it is condemned by the Bible, would go against the wishes of the victims. Of course, it would be difficult to speak on behalf of the deceased, his argument makes sense. Historically, black people have often been, for lack of a better term, screwed over by the judicial system, as evident by cases such as the Scottsboro boys. So, it would seem that condemning the killer to the death penalty would send the message that this racially charged terrorism is not tolerated by the U.S. However, with recent controversy over the just nature of the death penalty, the opposite could just as easily be argued.
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