Death Penalty

The government plans to execute a former Black soldier. It would be the first military execution since 1961.

Dylann Roof will defend himself in court and could cross-examine survivors and family members of the Emanuel 9.

While Trump has praised him for his accomplishments on jobs, tax cuts, infrastructure, and school funding, he has been targeted by Black activists for his record on voting rights protections, education for students of color, and his position on the death penalty.

Roof attended Tuesday's hearing sitting "impassively" in front of the victims' families, journalists and spectators, the Times reports. He faces 33 counts, including hate crimes.

Out of the 33 federal charges against Roof, the accusation that he violated the prayer group's right to freely practice religion will weigh heavy when considering the death penalty.

Oklahoma has executed 112 inmates since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

A Texas death row inmate has battled to get an appeal of his sentence over an expert witness who said Black people are dangerous. His problem is that his own lawyer retained the expert.

Dylann Roof has been charged with 33 federal hate crime and firearms charges for the shooting. The case is expected to go to trial July 11.

The Supreme Court has unveiled more troubling events behind the decision to keep African-American jurors off a 1987 case against a Black man who was convicted of killing a White woman. Justice Stephen Breyer and eight other justices have begun reviewing the racial tactics used to obtain a conviction in the case of Timothy Tyrone Foster. […]

President Barack Obama and Russian leader Vladimir Putin haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but Monday they will come face-to-face to lay lingering issues between their countries on the table. This will be the first time the two have met in almost a year. “It appears that President Putin is convinced that his position would benefit from a conversation […]

Pope Francis tackled issues of racial and social injustice, and abolishment of the death penalty, among other things.

South Carolina will seek the death penalty for suspected Mother Emanuel AME church shooter Dylann Roof. The federal case against him also carries a possible death sentence.