Dylann Roof death sentence appeal focuses on Charleston church shooter's capacity to stand trial

The man on federal death row for the racist slayings of nine members of a Black South Carolina congregation was wrongly allowed to represent himself during a critical phase of his trial, his attorneys argued Tuesday, saying Dylann Roof's continuing “delusional belief” he’d be saved by White nationalists — but only if he kept mental health evidence out of his defense — should have shown his trial judge he wasn't competent.

That year, Roof became the first person in the U.S. sentenced to death for a federal hate crime. Authorities have said Roof opened fire during the closing prayer of a 2015 Bible study at Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church, raining down dozens of bullets on those assembled. He was 21 years old at the time. Representing himself for sentencing, Roof successfully prevented jurors from hearing evidence about his mental health, "under the delusion," his attorneys have argued, that "he would be rescued from prison by White nationalists — but only, bizarrely, if he kept his mental-impairments out of the public record."