Associated PressAssociated Press
FILE - In this June 18, 2015, file photo, Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C. Attorneys for the convicted Charleston church shooter have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide how to handle disagreements over mental illness-related evidence between capital defendants and their attorneys. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Attorneys for convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide how to handle disagreements over mental illness-related evidence between capital defendants and their attorneys.

When a capital defendant who has been ruled competent to stand trial and his attorneys disagree on whether to present evidence depicting him as mentally ill, who gets the final say?

Justices need to resolve a deep divide among the lower courts over who gets to decide whether to introduce evidence at a capital penalty hearing.

Even if it could have helped him avoid the death penalty, Roof&s self-representation and desire to block any evidence potentially portraying him as mentally ill has been a constant part of his case.

During the sentencing phase of his trial, Roof decided to represent himself. His appellate attorneys wrote that this move prevented jurors from hearing evidence about his mental health and that he would be saved from prison by white-nationalists.

After the district court told him that counsel could introduce evidence depicting him as mentally ill over his objection, Roof made his decision, his team argued in the petition.

His attorneys argued that the 4th Circuit's handling of such cases was different from the rest of the country because the majority of state and federal courts held otherwise.

They argued that if Roof had been tried in one of the majority jurisdictions, he wouldn't have had to self-represent at his capital trial to block his own attorneys from presenting evidence he didn't like.

Roof opened fire during the closing prayer of a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, raining down dozens of bullets on those assembled. He was young at the time.

Last year, a panel of appellate judges unanimously upheld Roof's conviction and death sentence and issued a stern rebuke of Roof's crimes, which the judges wrote "qualify him for the harshest penalty that a just society can impose."

The judges from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to hear the case. Jay Richardson was one of the judges who prosecuted Roof's case when he was sentenced to death.

The court was asked to reconsider its recusal by Roof. The request for a new hearing was denied by the court.

According to court documents filed in another federal case, the FBI heard two neo-Nazi group members talk about trying to free Roof from the maximum-security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he is an inmate, including details on the number of guards present and how a shootout would happen.

If he is unsuccessful in his direct appeal, Roof could file a 2255 appeal, which would ask the trial court to review his conviction and sentence. He could ask for a presidential pardon.

The government will respond by the end of the month.

There is a

Meg Kinnard can be reached on social media.

  • The Rhode Island law is believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation.

  • There has never been an appointment to the Supreme Court in Florida. Even though Florida has the third most electoral votes in the country, we haven't been invited to the highest court in the land.

  • Few know that Amazon has millions of Prime subscribers.

  • An Oath Keeper accused of providing protection to Roger Stone before storming the U.S. Capitol in a stolen golf cart appears to have cut a plea deal with the feds, raising the prospect of a potent witness turning on key players in the violent insurrection. He is not a run-of-the-mill person.

  • "We really need to make sure that when we talk about accepting refugees that we are meaning it for everybody no matter where they come from," she said.

  • Their white neighbor was confused. The Black men were trying to help her.

  • They saw that it worked. Almost every house in the neighborhood has it. I get a lot of thanks for my method.

  • Roman Abramovich is not among the high-profile Russians facing economic sanctions, but he is said to be an ally of Putin.

  • A group of children ages 12 to 13 were having a sleepover at a house when five of them threw objects at one child and used racial slurs.

  • Why Russia can't access its money, and why freezing the ruble will give China second thoughts about its own economic ambitions.

  • AdRaid
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    Enjoy this stunning graphics and deep game-play.

  • Do you know the family of this boy?

  • An Insider reporter tried the famous pastrami sandwich and was surprised at the price.

  • She is a clout chaser, according to Sunny Hostin.

  • AdSmartAsset
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    A high-interest account allows you to earn compound interest, while still having full access to your money. These are the top picks.

  • What he didn't say says a lot about what he did.

  • It is the first time a country will conduct an airdrop for donations.

  • There are no words to express our sadness.

  • New styling, performance and technology will be introduced in the year 2022.

  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Tuesday that Matt Perna had committed suicide while awaiting trial for his involvement in the Capitol attack. The family of Perna blamed the government and the prosecution for his death.

  • The post Florida mom demands answers after police handcuff her son appeared first on TheGrio.

  • Ben Dusing has been suspended from practicing law in Kentucky and Ohio.

  • They changed what we knew about the ancient world.

  • A highly sensitive red line for Beijing, Taiwan was almost immediately referred to by former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a country when he arrived in the island on Wednesday. The United States and most other countries do not formally recognise Taiwan as a state because the Communist Party of China views the island as Chinese territory. Even though Western countries have offered strong support to Taiwan, they rarely call it a country that is wary of angering China.

  • A Capitol rioter died by suicide as he was awaiting sentencing on charges of witness tampering, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

  • An update on the club's future was requested by the EFL.