Recently filed court documents have shown that prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case of Dylann Roof, who was accused of a racially motivated mass shooting at Charleston, S.C.'s historical Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
There are certain factors that go into a death penalty decision, and South Carolina law indicates that a death penalty can be sought if the alleged suspect has killed more than one person during a single act, according to the Washington Post.
Court documents state that prosecutors in the case would show Roof's mental state, criminal record and his apparent lack of remorse about the killings, according to the New York Times.
Since Roof's arrest in June, evidence of his ties to the white supremacy movement have surfaced in the media, and survivors of the horrifying attack say that he shouted racial slurs and allegedly allowed one woman to live just to tell others about what he'd done.
It is believed that the church was holding a bible study and Roof, 21, was allegedly there waiting before he pulled out his gun and began executing unsuspecting parishioners, according to USA Today.
Roof has been indicted in both state and federal court, and it is currently unclear which trial will take place first.
