RELIGION

The Latest on shooting: Chief magistrate who spoke of suspect family at bond hearing replaced

Associated Press
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A passerby photographs the spray painted message of “Black Lives Matter” that was painted on a monument to former Confederate President Jefferson Davis on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Thursday, June 25, 2015. The vandalism comes after a mass shooting in Charleston South Carolina has sparked a nationwide debate on the public display of Confederate imagery. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (The Associated Press)

A passerby photographs the spray painted message of “Black Lives Matter” that was painted on a monument to former Confederate President Jefferson Davis on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Thursday, June 25, 2015. The vandalism comes after a mass shooting in Charleston South Carolina has sparked a nationwide debate on the public display of Confederate imagery. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (The Associated Press)

A passerby photographs the spray painted message of “Black Lives Matter” that was painted on a monument to former Confederate President Jefferson Davis on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Thursday, June 25, 2015. The vandalism comes after a mass shooting in Charleston South Carolina has sparked a nationwide debate on the public display of Confederate imagery. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (The Associated Press)

8:20 a.m.

The chief magistrate who solicited sympathy for relatives of a man accused of fatally shooting nine people at a Charleston, South Carolina, church has been replaced.

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed a replacement for Charleston County Chief Magistrate James Gosnell

The order doesn't say why Chief Justice Jean Toal replaced Gosnell, who remains a magistrate judge. His term as chief was to expire at the end of June.

Gosnell's attorney didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. Local media outlets report that Lionel Lofton said his client told Toal on Tuesday he didn't want to be reconsidered for the chief position.

During a bond hearing for suspect Dylann Roof, Gosnell expressed sympathy for Roof's family, as well as the victims' families.

Gosnell said: "There are victims on this young man's side of the family. We must find it in our heart, at some point in time, to not only help those who are victims but to also help his family as well."