The man accused of murdering nine African-American churchgoers last month in Charleston, South Carolina entered a “temporary” not guilty plea on Friday.
Reuters noted that Dylann Roof’s lawyer did not advise his client to enter a guilty plea at this time until it is known if prosecutors will seek the death penalty or not.
"Roof has told us he wishes to plead guilty," defense attorney David Bruck told the court. "Until we know whether the government will seek the death penalty, we cannot advise Mr. Roof."
As previously reported, Roof allegedly admitted to investigators that he shot the victims during bible study while at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church because of their race. Each of the victims were black and Roof is white.
The 21-year-old faces dozens of state and federal charges. If he is found guilty of the charges he will either spend his life in prison or be sentenced to death depending on the prosecutor’s final decision of which penalty to seek.
mugshot courtesy of arrests.org