Charleston Church Shooter Dylann Roof Staged Hunger Strike Over ‘Harsh’ Prison Treatment
Dylann Roof, the man who killed nine black church members in 2015 during a Bible study at a famous church in Charleston, is having a hard time in the slammer and recently made desperate moves in hope of seeing change.
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According to reports, Roof allegedly staged a hunger strike earlier this month to protest his treatment on death row. He told The Associated Press in a Feb. 13 letter that he has been “targeted by staff,” “verbally harassed and abused without cause” and “treated disproportionately harsh” at the Federal Correctional Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana. He even claimed that the prison staff believe they are justified in their actions “since (he) is hated by the general public,” AP reported.
A person familiar with the matter said Roof had been on a hunger strike but was no longer on one, as of this week. Since the person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, the source spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Roof, who showed no remorse throughout his murder trial seemingly explained why he ended the strike in a follow-up letter on Feb. 16, saying “I feel confident I could have gone much, much longer without food,” he continued, “It’s just not worth being murdered over.”
In the meantime, Roof’s lawyers said in a statement that they were “working with BOP to resolve the issues addressed in the letters,” WGNTV quotes. Just recently, his lawyers also filed an appeal to his federal convictions and death sentence, arguing that he was mentally ill when he represented himself at his capital trial.
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