New developments in Charleston church shooting case
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Attorneys for the man accused in the shooting deaths of nine parishioners at a South Carolina church have filed notice that they want to forgo a jury trial and have the judge hearing the death-penalty case decide their client's fate.
The court document shows that attorneys for Dylann Roof filed the notice Thursday in U.S. District Court. In the filing, lead defense attorney David Bruck acknowledged that federal prosecutors have said they will not consent to waive the jury.
The 22-year-old Roof faces federal charges including hate crimes in connection to the shootings, which took place June 17 during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Roof.
The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Nov. 7. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel, who is overseeing the case, has said there could be 1,200 to 1,500 prospective jurors, CBS affiliate WCSC reported.
Bruck said he may ask the judge to have jurors picked from the Charleston area and not statewide, according to WCSC.
Roof faces nine counts of murder in a state trial set to begin in January.