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Dylann Roof: Charleston Shooter Assaulted By Inmate In Jail Shower

By Louis Babcock
Published on: 22:55 PST, Aug 4, 2016

Dylann Roof made national headlines last year and set off a political firestorm due to his action of committing a hate crime by murdering nine black churchgoers in South Carolina. Currently, Roof is being incarcerated in the Charleston County Detention Center. It was there that Dylan Roof was assaulted in the shower by Dwayne Stafford. Stafford, a black inmate, initiated the attack on Roof at approximately 7:45 a.m., according to what Sheriff Al Cannon stated.

Due to the severity of his crime, Dylan Roof has been relegated to protective custody in the jail ever since he was first brought into the Charleston County Detention Center. Due to the protective custody protocol, guards at the jail have been instructed to ensure all other inmates are accounted for and locked in their cells before Roof is allowed out of his cell to use the shower facilities. Two guards are also assigned to Dylan Roof when he is out of his cell, but he was left unprotected as one of the guards was taking a break while the other was bringing toilet paper to another inmate in the jail. Stafford was not in the shower at the same time as Dylann Roof. In order to conduct the assault under the protective custody rules, Stafford had to get out of his cell, bypass a steel door, traverse a set of stairs, and enter the shower to get his hands on Roof.

Sheriff Cannon commented on the lapse in the protective custody protocol.

“It seems to me pretty obvious at this point that at the very least we have complacency. We do things day-in and day-out and they become routine.”

Stafford was able to hit Dylann Roof multiple times before guards were able to pull Stafford off of Roof. When word of Roof’s beating hit the news cycle, people on Twitter responded with no sympathy towards Dylann Roof but praised the actions of Stafford.

After the shower assault, Roof was evaluated by medical staff in the jail. After the medical staff ruled that his injuries did not necessitate him going to the hospital, Dylann Roof was returned to his cell where he nursed his superficial injuries. Sheriff Cannon stated that charges of assault would be brought against Stafford, but that was quickly changed when Roof stated he would not be pressing charges against the inmate.

This was the first time that any attack was attempted on Dylann Roof inside of the jail. His assaulter, Dwayne Stafford, first entered the jail in January of 2015. He had been charged with strong-armed robbery and first-degree assault charges and is currently awaiting trial. According to Sheriff Cannon, he is not sure if Stafford attacked Roof because Roof was white or if some other motive was the cause of the assault.

“I can’t speculate. There is nothing that I am aware of beyond the obvious speculation that we would all have, given the nature of the situation. But nothing specific.”

Dylann Roof’s trial is set to start in November of this year, and he will be standing trial for hate crimes perpetrated against the nine people he murdered last year. Roof will be facing the death penalty at his trial.

What are your thoughts on Dylann Roof being assaulted in jail?

[Image Via Charleston County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File]

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