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Accused killer of 9 at Charleston church to face death penalty if convicted

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The white man accused of killing nine black churchgoers during a Bible study meeting will face the death penalty, according to court documents filed Thursday.

The documents said prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against Dylann Roof, 21, because more than two people were killed and because others’ lives were put at risk.

Prosecutors also said they intended to present evidence on Roof’s mental state, adult and juvenile criminal record and other conduct, as well as his apparent lack of remorse for the killings.

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Roof faces state charges including nine murder counts in the June 17 slayings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. He is expected in court again on those charges in October.

He also faces federal charges including for alleged hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion, some of which also may be punishable by the death penalty. U.S. Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch has said that federal charges were necessary to adequately address a motive that prosecutors believe was unquestionably rooted in racial hate. South Carolina has no state hate crimes law.

Roof is white and appeared in photos waving Confederate flags and burning or desecrating U.S. flags. He purportedly wrote online of fomenting racial violence, and federal authorities have said he used a personal manuscript in which he decried integration and used racial slurs to refer to blacks.

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