Alleged church shooter Roof to argue mental illness

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys for a man who faces the death penalty in the shooting deaths of nine parishioners at Charleston’s Emmanuel AME Church say they will present evidence that he suffers a mental illness.

Attorneys filed a notice Monday that they plan to introduce the evidence during the sentencing phase of Dylann Roof’s federal trial.

The 22-year-old Roof stands trial in federal court in November for hate crimes and other charges in the June 2015 shootings at the church. He also faces nine murder charges in state court in a death-penalty trial set for January.

There is a hearing in the state case on Wednesday and a hearing in the federal case next week.