Religion and Politics

Roof Attorneys Want Death Penalty Ruled Unconstitutional

The Associated Press’s Bruce Smith reports that Dylann Roof’s lawyers filed a motion on Monday, arguing that jury selection in death penalty cases is unconstitutional. Roof’s defenders argued that juries in these cases underrepresent women and minorities, as well as religious groups that are anti-capital punishment. Roof is accused of killing nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina, last June, and his attorneys say he is willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Smith writes, “While the law provides that all citizens have an opportunity to sit on juries, juries willing to impose a death penalty don’t represent a cross-section of the community, the filing said.”

Read at Associated Press

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