Dylann Roof, the white man charged in the massacre of nine black parishioners at a Charleston church, was assaulted Thursday by a black inmate at the SC jail where he is being held, a law official said.
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Before he was able to reach the showers, inmate Dwayne Stafford, 25, of Goose Creek ran downstairs and punched Roof several times, Cannon said during a news conference. Due to the protective custody protocol, guards at the jail have been instructed to ensure all other inmates are accounted for and locked in their cells before Roof is allowed out of his cell to use the shower facilities.
The 26-year-old Stafford, who has a lengthy criminal record, is awaiting trial on first-degree assault and strong armed robbery charges. They are also looking into the involvement or negligence of prison staff; the officer escorting Roof broke procedure by leaving him alone and the other officer on duty was reportedly on a break. However, according to a report from The Post and Courier, Roof and his attorney, Ashley Pennington, had indicated that they do not wish to press charges against Stafford.
His state and federal attorneys have said he is willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Roof is charged with killing nine people during Bible study at a historic black church in 2015 in Charleston.
He said the attack is a “wake-up call” that officers must maintain vigilance in an environment where inmates can turn violent in an instant. “One of the biggest challenges [for police officers and detention officers] is that we do things day in day out and it becomes routine and sometimes because of that it is easy to become complacent”.
His federal trial is set for November while his state trial is set for next year. His assaulter, Dwayne Stafford, first entered the jail in January of 2015. After he was captured, Roof told authorities he wanted to start a race war with the killings, but all that he seems to have achieved is a war on himself. Prosecutors in both courts are seeking the death penalty.
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Dylann Roof is facing the death penalty in Federal court for the charges against him.
