On Thursday, a fellow inmate at South Carolina’s Charleston County Detention Center beat up Dylann Roof-the 22-year-old who murdered nine black parishioners in the racially motivated Charleston Church shooting of June 2015.
Advertisement
Maj. Eric Watson of the Charleston County sheriff’s office said Roof was medically evaluated and returned to his cell, the Associated Press reports.
The man who attacked Roof is serving time for armed robbery and assault and battery, as well as attacking a police officer.
At a Thursday afternoon news conference, Sheriff Al Cannon said Dylann Roof was let out of his cell at approximately 7:45 a.m.to take a shower.
Cannon added that officials are investigating how Stafford managed to make his way through a cell door to reach Roof.
“The detention officer responded quickly and separated the two”, he said.
Roof entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during evening Bible study on June 17, 2015 and opened fire with a legally owned handgun. Attorneys for the man charged with killing nine people at a Charleston church are challenging federal prosecutors’ intention to seek the death penalty against him. Roof isn’t planning on pressing charges against Stafford. Both inmates were examined and cleared by the detention center’s medical staff. Roof is scheduled to remain in his original housing unit.
“It seems to me pretty obvious at this point that at the very least we have complacency”.
Following the attack, police said that Stafford would be charged with battery, misdemeanor and third-degree assault.
“The death penalty – in and of itself – constitutes an unconstitutional punishment”, they said in the document.
He goes to federal trial in November, with a state trial set to begin next year.
Roof has also been indicted on 12 state charges, including nine counts of murder, one count of possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and three attempted murder charges. The federal government has charged Roof with hate crimes and other offenses. He could face the death penalty in both cases.
Advertisement
His state and federal attorneys have said he is willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.
