Hillary Clinton has weighed in with her thoughts on the U.S. Department of Justice recommendation that Charleston church shooter Dylan Roof be sentenced to death.
It was announced earlier this week that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty for the 22-year-old gunman, who opened fire on a bible study group at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina last June and claimed the lives of 9 people.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton was initially silent following news of the DOJ announcement, but her head spokesperson Brian Fallon told the Huffington Post in an e-mail that Clinton “respects the Justice Department decision.”
In the past, Clinton has maintained that she believes the death penalty should be an option, but only in cases of the most heinous crimes. Roof admitted to intentionally targeting Emanuel AME Church in his attack for various racially motivated reasons, including a self-professed hatred for African-Americans, which was outlined in a personal manifesto found by police following the shooting.
He faces 33 counts of federal charges.
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