In 2017, Roof became the first person in the U.S. sentenced to death for a federal hate crime. Authorities have said Roof opened fire during the Bible study at the church, raining down dozens of bullets on those assembled. He was 21 at the time.
The slain included the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, pastor of the AME Emanuel Church, a state senator, as well as other pillars of the community. They all shared deep devotion to the church, known as Mother Emanuel, and passed that faith along to their families, many of whom offered Roof forgiveness when he appeared in court just days after the attack.
The FBI has acknowledged that Roof’s drug possession arrest should have prevented him from buying a gun.
Speaking with AP in Washington ahead of the news conference, Pinckney’s eldest daughter recalled the night of the shooting and said she was committed to maintaining the legacy of her father, who died when she was 11.
“I’ve done whatever I can to keep his memory alive and to carry on his legacy throughout my life,” Eliana Pinckney, 17, told the AP. “Just to make sure that the memories that I have with him can be shared with other people, so that other people are inspired by the life that he lived, and the life that he would keep living if he was still here.”
The deal, which was reached earlier this month, is still pending a judge’s approval, Sellers said.
“All nine of these families have been so strong, and they deserve this closure,” Sellers said. “Of course we wanted more, but this is just, and this is justice, and finally, these families can say that they got it.”
This article originally appeared here.
