by Kevin Sack and Alan Blinder

January 8, 2017

 

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The federal trial to determine whether Dylann S. Roof will receive the death penalty for his murderous rampage at an African-American church has become a delicate balancing act, pitting the desire of prosecutors to convey the fullness of grief for the nine devout victims against the due process rights of an unrepentant white supremacist who largely declines to defend himself.

In three days of heart-ripping testimony last week, prosecutors questioned 20 spouses, children, grandchildren and friends of the victims to draw painfully poignant portraits of men and women who were pillars of their church, families and community. Jurors heard not only the tributes of the bereaved but in some cases the voices of the dead — recordings of the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney lecturing proudly about the two-century history of Emanuel A.M.E. Church, the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor booming a soulful a cappella solo, the Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton praying in a crescendo at the funeral of a friend.

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/us/at-charleston-trial-a-question-of-how-many-tears-are-too-many.html