A judge from South Carolina has summoned 600 members of a jury pool for an upcoming trial of a white man being accused for the death of nine black church goers in Charleston church.
South Carolina is seeking the death penalty as a punishment for the July 11 trial of Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old suspect of the Charleston church massacre. In June 2015, Roof barged inside a bible study session at Emanuel AME Church and started shooting people, killing nine parish attendees. Roof is currently facing nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and a weapons charge, according to ABC News.
Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson issued an order stating that a 600-member jury pool is needed because the case is complex. Adding to the issued order, the judge wanted to seal the questionnaires that will be used to screen jurors until they are shown to the members on June 28.
The selection process can be arduous; as members of the jury pool will have to report back to the court in groups of 20 to be interviewed by the attorneys on the day the trial is set to begin. According to the attorneys involved in the case, the trial could last up to several weeks, especially that the state is seeking the death penalty.
The Daily Mail reports that Roof is also facing more than 10 charges, including several hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion in federal court. There is still no news whether prosecutors and the federal government will seek the death penalty. As indicated in earlier hearings, it could be a while before the Justice Department makes a decision on the matter.
According to WLTX, Roof confessed to be responsible for the killing spree that happened in June.
The status of the case will be released and discussed during a hearing that is scheduled in February.
