A federal jury has convicted Dylann Roof of the racially motivated slayings of nine black church members in South Carolina in June 2015.The jury of nine white people and three black people deliberated for less than two hours before returning a verdict. They convicted the 22-year-old white man oncharges of hate crimes, obstruction of religion, and using a weapon to murder.The same jury will reconvene next month to decide whether Roof should get the death penalty or be sentenced to life in prison.Roof asked US District Judge Richard Gergel, who presided over the trial, if he could represent himself in the penalty phase.Gergel approved his request, saying "it is a decision you have the right to make." He called it "strategically unwise," however.Roof, who was found guilty on all 33 federal charges, is slated to face another death penalty trial in state court early next year. He was deemed mentally competent to stand trial late last month."It is my hope that the survivors, the families, and the people of South Carolina can find some peace in the fact that justice has been served," South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley wrote on Twitter.Roof was an avowed white supremacist at the time of the attack. A disturbing website registered to Roofwith a racist manifesto and dozens of photos of him posing with guns and the Confederate battle flagwas found after the massacre occurred.He confessed to law enforcement officials shortly after he was arrested that he decided he "had to go through with his mission."The tape of his confession was played on Day Three of the trial."I just finally decided that I had to do it," Roof told the FBI agents who interviewed him on June 18, 2015. "The fact of the matter is what I did is so minuscule to what black people are doing to white people every day."Roof told the FBI he killed about five people, and was surprised when the agents told him nine people were shot and killed in June 2015 at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church."I didn't say anything to them before I pulled [the gun] out," Roof said. "Not even one word. ... It was very fast."Jurors heard from witnesses who testified that Roof made multiple trips to Charleston in the months before he attacked the church. They also heard from two survivors.Roof told the FBI he targeted the Emanuel AME Church because he "knew that was a place that there would be a small amount of black people in one area."Roof's attorney, David Bruck, called no witnesses.Prosecutors said in their closing arguments that Roof was filled with hate and had already confessed to the FBI about his role in the shootings. Defense attorneys portrayed Roof as a suicidal loner who never fully grasped the severity of what he has done.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: NASA just spotted a massive hole growing on the sun 'here's what it means
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