A South Carolina prosecutor announced that Dylann Roof, the man accused of killing nine people in a Charleston church, will face the death penalty.
The Associated Press noted that Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson decided on the punishment for Roof’s “ultimate crime.”
"This was the ultimate crime, and justice from our state calls for the ultimate punishment," Wilson said in a statement on Thursday.
As we previously reported, the 21-year-old Roof is accused of fatally shooting nine Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church members during a bible study last June.
Autopsies revealed the each of the victims were shot multiple times and authorities believe the attack was racially motivated. Roof is white and those murdered were black. Moreover, Roof has posted content on social media using racial slurs and posing with the Confederate flag.
He was indicted in July and faces state charges including nine murder counts for the massacre.
Family members of the victims said that they have forgiven him, but want him to be punished. However, they are not proponents of the death penalty.
Roof’s next scheduled court appearance is set for October.