COLUMBIA, S.C. – A hearing has been set for next month to sort out jury selection details for the federal trial of a white man accused of gunning down nine black parishioners at a historic South Carolina church.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel on Thursday set a July 18 hearing in the federal case against 22-year-old Dylann Roof.
Attorneys disagree about some juror selection details, such as whether they should come from across South Carolina or only from the Charleston area. Roof faces charges including hate crimes in the shooting deaths at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church.
Both state and federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and Roof's federal trial is set for November. The state case is not scheduled until January, although state prosecutors have said their case should be tried first.
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