--- title: Killing Dylann Roof Wouldn't Help Racial Injustice description: Killing Dylann Roof, who killed nine black worshipers in Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church, would not help racial injustice. canonical: https://time.com/4556555/dylann-roof-death-penalty-racial-injustice/ author: Jeffery Robinson article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-04T14:06:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:36:31.197Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Killing Dylann Roof Wouldn't Help Racial Injustice og:description: It would reinforce the legacy of racial injustice in the death penalty og:url: https://time.com/4556555/dylann-roof-death-penalty-racial-injustice/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8615216be8a1b92/6988acd5524fc0aa46dfa1aa/dylann-roof.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3701 og:image:height: 2082 og:image:alt: Dylan Roof (C), the suspect in the mass shooting that left nine dead in a Charleston church appears in court in Charleston, S.C., on July 18, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Killing Dylann Roof Wouldn't Help Racial Injustice twitter:description: It would reinforce the legacy of racial injustice in the death penalty twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8615216be8a1b92/6988acd5524fc0aa46dfa1aa/dylann-roof.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Killing Dylann Roof Wouldn't Help Racial Injustice > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ece7251e-99a7-4d9b-b5bd-f96e33ee5006&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ece7251e-99a7-4d9b-b5bd-f96e33ee5006&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=ece7251e-99a7-4d9b-b5bd-f96e33ee5006&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Jeffery Robinson](https://time.com/author/jeffery-robinson/) ## Jeffery Robinson Nov 4, 2016 2:06 PM UTC  Dylan Roof (C), the suspect in the mass shooting that left nine dead in a Charleston church appears in court in Charleston, S.C., on July 18, 2015. Dylan Roof (C), the suspect in the mass shooting that left nine dead in a Charleston church appears in court in Charleston, S.C., on July 18, 2015. Pool—Getty Images by [Jeffery Robinson](https://time.com/author/jeffery-robinson/) ## Jeffery Robinson Nov 4, 2016 2:06 PM UTC The impact of race on criminal justice is one of the hottest topics of our time. Today’s police-shooting videos have not revealed something new, they have revealed, in a new way, [a legacy of racial hatred and violence](http://time.com/4527078/2016-election-john-legend-race/) that is embedded in our nation’s DNA, and more and more Americans are waking up to that fact. So, if we are ready to address the impact of racism in the criminal justice system, what do the remedies look like? Let me tell you one thing that will not work—sentencing [Dylann Roof](http://time.com/3926263/charleston-church-shooting-dylann-roof/?iid=sr-link7) to death. Jury selection for his federal death penalty case in the Charleston shooting last summer starts on Nov. 7. When I heard about his slaughter of nine black worshipers in Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church, I wanted vengeance. I wanted his blood. I grew up as a black child in the South in the 60s and spent the past 34 years as a criminal defense lawyer. I’d seen too many black lives sacrificed to racism, snuffed out by violence or wasted by our criminal justice system. Snapshots of Dylann Roof began to emerge—[here](http://www.vox.com/2015/6/18/8806633/charleston-shooter-flags-dylann-roof) wearing a jacket emblazoned with the flags of Rhodesia and Apartheid-era South Africa, [there](http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/20/us/charleston-shooting-website/) in sunglasses holding a confederate flag and a gun. My rage grew, and I was sure that he deserved to die. I had long been opposed to capital punishment in all circumstances, yet I wished the death penalty on Dylann Roof. The more I thought about it, though, the more I understood that, one: his death would not get me what I wanted, and two: his execution wouldn’t help solve the problem of racism in the criminal justice system. It would only serve to reinforce the legacy of racial injustice in our use of the death penalty. After 34 years of practicing in the criminal justice system and studying its history, here is what I know to be true: the racism that has marred our country’s development since its beginnings is inextricable from the death penalty. Every credible study evaluating race and capital punishment in America has [shown](http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/arbitrariness) the same thing: The death penalty is not reserved for the worst of the worst, but mostly for black and brown people convicted of killing white people. None of this is surprising given our history of segregation and lynching. What I also know to be true is that prosecutors sometimes [exclude](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/us/north-carolina-law-used-to-set-aside-a-death-sentence.html) black jurors from death-penalty and non-death penalty trials for no reason but their race; and only in the most extreme and rare instances are they held accountable. Don’t think this just happens in the South. I saw the exact same practices we associate with Dixie in courtrooms in the Pacific Northwest. This, like every other aspect of race in our country, is a national problem that stretches from sea to shining sea. Abhorrent racial considerations, instead of the mere facts, seep into [jury’s deliberations](http://www.npr.org/2016/10/11/497196091/top-court-hears-case-on-racial-bias-in-jury-deliberations). In Texas, a black defendant was [predicted to be violent](http://www.npr.org/2016/10/05/496630474/supreme-court-to-hear-death-penalty-case-based-on-racially-tainted-testimony) based on race and was therefore sentenced to death. And for those who say the Supreme Court will likely reverse the conviction, remember, the case only got to the highest court because numerous other judges heard this evidence and saw no problem. And, when innocent people are sentenced to death, we find that [93 of 156 innocent people](http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence?inno%5Fname=&exonerated=&state%5Finnocence=All&race=1&dna=All) released from death rows across this country are black and brown. Our problems with race and the criminal justice system run deep and will take years of work to resolve. Some might think that sentencing Roof to death would demonstrate that black lives actually matter and somehow erase the legacy of racism and the death penalty. If we kill him, won’t that show that we are not racists? Nothing could be further from the truth. Killing Roof would not put us on the path to redemption. His execution would not dispel the racism that rules who we execute in America. Seeking his death would not somehow “even the score.” And remember, the human brain is not fully developed until about [25 years of age](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24173194). Are we actually going to try to cleanse the racism from the death penalty by executing a person who was 21 years old at the time of his offense? History would not judge us kindly for such a killing. Roof has [offered](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d20939f879cf43d19df2afae235704ba/church-shooting-attorney-calls-state-prosecutor-reckless) to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence with no parole. This would save us from re-hashing the most difficult parts of his case and open the door to talk fully and in loving memory of his victims, including the Reverend Clementa Pinckney who, if alive, would be leading the discussions we desperately need to reform our criminal justice system. The ugly truth about my initial desire for Roof’s execution is that it might somehow validate the very part of our criminal justice system most infected by racism. People could offer up Roof’s execution as an example of how the death penalty is meted out fairly in America, and thereby increase the legitimacy of a system that unfairly and disproportionately continues to kill black and brown people. Because if Roof is sentenced to death and forgotten in the minds of many Americans, we would go back to executing black and brown people like we always have, and valuing white lives over the lives of people of color. What I want is an America that does not nurture the hate in Roof’s heart. And killing him won’t get me that either. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4556555/dylann-roof-death-penalty-racial-injustice/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4556555/dylann-roof-death-penalty-racial-injustice/"},"headline":"Killing Dylann Roof Wouldn't Help Racial Injustice","datePublished":"2016-11-04T14:06:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:36:31.197Z","description":"'It would only serve to reinforce the legacy of racial injustice in our use of the death penalty'","url":"https://time.com/4556555/dylann-roof-death-penalty-racial-injustice/","keywords":["Criminal Justice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8615216be8a1b92/6988acd5524fc0aa46dfa1aa/dylann-roof.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffery Robinson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jeffery-robinson/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8615216be8a1b92/6988acd5524fc0aa46dfa1aa/dylann-roof.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dylan Roof (C), the suspect in the mass shooting that left nine dead in a Charleston church appears in court in Charleston, S.C., on July 18, 2015.","caption":"Dylan Roof (C), the suspect in the mass shooting that left nine dead in a Charleston church appears in court in Charleston, S.C., on July 18, 2015.","creditText":"Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/criminal-justice/","name":"Criminal Justice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4556555/dylann-roof-death-penalty-racial-injustice/","name":"Killing Dylann Roof Wouldn't Help Racial Injustice"}}]}] ```