south carolina
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Prosecutor Asks That SC Be Allowed to Hold Dylann Roof Trial 1st
A South Carolina state attorney is asking that the state be allowed to prosecute accused Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooter Dylann Roof before the federal government does, the Associated Press reports. Claiming that the state has primary jurisdiction over the case, 9th Judicial Circuit solicitor Scarlett Wilson, who will be prosecuting Roof for the state, said Tuesday that…
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What Would It Take to Scare America Into Passing Stricter Gun Control?
It’s been exactly one year since Dylann Roof decided to make himself infamous by walking into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church—less than five minutes from where I’m sitting now—to, according to prosecutors, commit murder, get his racist merit badge and join the ranks of the worst people from South Carolina ever. He accepted the kindness…
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Racist Seeking Racist: How the Internet Helped Create Dylann Roof
Before accused South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof one year ago walked into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where parishioners welcomed him into their Bible study, he was “locked in his room looking up bad stuff on his computer,” Paige Mann, Roof’s former stepmother, told Time. “Something on the computer drew him in—this internet evil.” Roof…
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We Are Charleston: The Mother Emanuel Church Shooting a Year Later
Forgiveness. It was the main thing that stuck out, and one of the few things outsiders didn’t understand about Charleston, S.C., last year. How could so many who’d lost so much forgive then-21-year-old Dylann Roof after he allegedly shot and killed nine African-American worshippers during Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church? Only five people survived…
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Tell Me More About My Runaway Slave Ancestor
In my father’s family, there is a story about three brothers: Nash, Kush and Hardy. Our surname is Graham. The brothers were slaves who escaped by setting a cotton gin afire in the middle of the night, and during the commotion, they scat. We don’t know where they escaped from, but my family is strongly…
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Accused Charleston, SC, Church Shooter Dylann Roof Seeks Bench Trial
Dylann Roof, accused of fatally shooting nine black parishioners in a racially motivated attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., is seeking to be tried and, if found guilty, sentenced by the court rather than a jury, Reuters reports. Roof, attorneys noted in a filing in federal court, would like to waive…
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November Trial Set for Accused Charleston, SC, Church Shooter Dylann Roof
The federal trial for accused Charleston, S.C., church shooter Dylann Roof has finally been set in motion, with jury selection scheduled for Nov. 7, the Associated Press reports. Roof is accused of killing nine members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic black church in Charleston, including pastor and state Sen. Clementa Pinckney. Roof is facing several…
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It's Great And All That Deputy Ben Fields Got Fired. But Fuck, That's No Consolation
After watching the video of Deputy Ben Fields assaulting a teen girl in her classroom, and following the national coverage of the fallout from this incident, I had no doubt Fields would eventually be publicly reprimanded, suspended, and eventually fired. Which he was, today. His superiors had no choice but to do so; the footage was…
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Yeah, Let's Chill With The "KKK Clashes With The Black Panthers" Headlines And Story Angles
(Quick thoughts about this weekend’s rallies in South Carolina to protest the removal of the Confederate flag) 1. I mean, I get it. The Ku Klux Klan was present at this rally. As were some Black pride groups, including those affiliated with the Black Panthers. And, I would assume that if a KKK member and a Black…
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On Being Black And Southern (And From South Carolina) At Times Like This
I’ve been a proud Black man from South Carolina for a few weeks north of 36 years. And, in all honesty, my state has always confused me. If I were ever asked to play word association with it, I would begin by telling the poor fool who asked the question to “grab a chair” because this…