The alleged shooter of the Charleston church massacre, Dylann Roof, will be allowed to represent himself in his federal death penalty trial.
“I do find defendant has the personal capacity to self-representation,” Judge Richard M. Gergel of Federal District Court in Charleston said, according to The Post & Courier, even though he called Roof’s decision “strategically unwise.”
The decision came days after the judge found Roof competent to stand trial.
The Justice Department is seeking the death penalty for Roof, who is accused of the June 17, 2015 shooting at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church that left nine black parishioners dead.
Roof, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, had offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, but prosecutors refused the deal. Jury selection began on Monday.
Roof has also been found competent to stand trial in South Carolina, where prosecutors plan to seek a second death penalty on nine counts of murder.
