News Blog C9-1: Dylan Roof is the First to be Federally Charged

On Wednesday CNN did a follow up article on Dylan Roof who will be federally charged for hate crimes. Dylan killed nine people in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. Dylan will be be the first defendant of a federal hate crime to be sentenced to death as recommended by the jury. Roof will have 14 days to appeal his sentence and if he does so he will appear in appellate courts to have automatic hearing to decide whether his sentence stands on legal grounds. Death penalty cases are notorious for their complexity because of all of the appeals and the processes that they must go through. Roof didn't have a defense attorney during any part of the penalty phase so it is expected for Dylan to appeal his sentence. Appealing his current sentence will not e only opportunity that Dylan will be back in a courtroom. The State of South Carolina is expected to press charges of their own with the death penalty as well.