CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – One by one, friends and family members walked up to the witness stand and testified about the nine black church members gunned down during a Bible study in Charleston on June 17, 2015. They described personalities, future plans and final conversations.
The testimony came during the sentencing phase of Dylann Roof’s death penalty trial. The same jury that convicted the 22-year-old white man of hate crimes and other charges will decide whether to sentence him to life in prison or death.
Roof faces murder charges in state court, where his trial had been slated to start later this month. But a state judge Thursday delayed that trial indefinitely because federal proceedings are ongoing.
Here are highlights from the federal testimony, which resumes Friday with more witnesses. So far, relatives of five of the nine people killed have taken the stand.
A PREMONITION AND A DREAM