COVE

This image was taken after the shooting that killed 9 people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In it, it is clear to see the hundreds of people gathered outside the church, mourning and praying for the victims and the community. Hundreds of reporters flooded to the church that day, desperate to get a peak at the church and what was going on outside of it. As the days and weeks followed, reporters began to fade and people went back to their normal, albeit slightly heavier, lives. Dylann Roof pleaded guilty to all murder charges and became the first person in the United States to be sentenced to death for a hate crime. As of August of 2021, the judges in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that sentence when Roof attempted to appeal it. However, the Associated Press with NPR writes that in July 2021, the Attorney General put a stop to all federal executions for further review among the Department of Justice. 

Today, Roof is 27 years old. He is currently in a death row facility in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. If the death penalty is seen through, Roof will die of lethal injection. As for the community of Charleston, multiple organizations have been opened to help the community.  A foundation for Reverend Pinckney, one of the victims of the shooting, was set up by a close friend.  A reverend from another Charleston church led the Illumination Project, which is described by Debbie Elliott as, “...[a project] designed to build trust between black communities and Charleston police” due to the continued violence against black individuals (npr.org). The Charleston community has healed and made progress towards racial justice within their community, but more action will be needed as the nation pushes ahead.

Works Cited

“Charleston Church Shooting.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting. Web.

Elliott, Debbie. “5 Years after Charleston Church Massacre, What Have We Learned?” NPR, NPR, 17 June 2020, www.npr.org/2020/06/17/878828088/5-years-after-charleston-church-massacre-what-have-we-learned. Web.

Kennedy, Merrit. “Dylann Roof Pleads Guilty to State Murder Charges for Charleston Church Attack.” NPR, NPR, 10 Apr. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/10/523279175/dylann-roof-pleads-....

Press, The Associated. “Judges Uphold the Death Sentence for Dylann Roof Who Killed 9 Black Churchgoers.” NPR, NPR, 25 Aug. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/08/25/1031086866/dylann-roof-death-sentence-upheld-char.... Web. 

Zoppo, Avalon. “Charleston Shooter Dylann Roof Moved to Death Row in Terre Haute Federal Prison.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 23 Apr. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/charleston-shooter-dylann-roof-moved-death-row-terre-haute-federal-n749671. Web.