Dylann Roof's Uncle: "Guilty" Nephew Should "Ride the Lightning"
The Charleston shooter’s uncle says he wishes he could “pull the switch himself” on his accused murderer nephew.
Carson Cowles, Dylann Roof’s uncle, has so far been the only family member to comment on his nephew, initially telling reporters that Roof was “quiet” and lacked motivation after he dropped out of high school. Cowles is also behind the revelation that Roof was given the gun he used to kill nine people as a 21st birthday gift.
Now that Roof is in custody and has apparently confessed to the shooting, Cowles tells the LA Times Roof’s mom is “devastated” but that he personally hopes the kid fries.
“He’s guilty as hell,” Carson Cowles, uncle of Dylann Roof, told the Los Angeles Times in a telephone interview.
His nephew is going to “ride the lightning,” Cowles told The Times, referring to the death penalty. “He’s going to pay for what he’s done. I’d pull the switch myself, if they’d let me.”
Roof’s mother is devastated, Cowles said, but he refused to comment further, saying it was a personal matter.
Cowles said the family was repelled by what his nephew is accused of doing. “He’ll get no sympathy from us, any of us.”
Roof is currently charged with nine counts of murder and a weapons possession charge—which makes him eligible to ride the lightning, should a jury so vote.
