1.0Voices at Templehttps://www2.law.temple.edu/voicesCommentary: Roof Should Not Have Been Allowed to Represent Himself - Voices at Templerich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="ZapKse00u4"><a href="https://www2.law.temple.edu/voices/commentary-roof-not-allowed-represent/">Commentary: Roof Should Not Have Been Allowed to Represent Himself</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www2.law.temple.edu/voices/commentary-roof-not-allowed-represent/embed/#?secret=ZapKse00u4" width="600" height="338" title="“Commentary: Roof Should Not Have Been Allowed to Represent Himself” — Voices at Temple" data-secret="ZapKse00u4" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">
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https://www2.law.temple.edu/voices/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/electric-chair-72283.jpg19201440The return of death sentences by the jury was inevitable in the case of Dylann Roof, who was on trial for killing nine black churchgoers during a Bible study in Charleston, S.C. But no one – fan or foe of capital punishment – should take comfort in how this came about; and an understanding of core Eighth Amendment values should make clear that the process and resulting sentence are unconstitutional. What went wrong first was the decision to permit Roof to self-represent. This flowed from a basic principle of autonomy – just as individuals have the right to the assistance of counsel, so too do they have the right to go it alone or, as some courts have put it, to be the captain of one’s ship. However, nearly a decade ago the U.S. Supreme Court held that, under the Sixth Amendment, “a right of self-representation at trial will not ‘affirm the dignity’ of a defendant who lacks the mental capacity to conduct his defense without the assistance of counsel. . .” Placing an unskilled …