Defense focuses on penalty, not guilt in church shooting

The real question, he told the jury during his opening statements, is whether Roof "should be sent to prison with no possibility of release ever or should he be executed."

The prosecution, which contends Roof singled out the historic church and shot the parishioners during a Bible study in June, 2015 to start a race war.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson told the jurors they will see a confession that Roof signed and a manifesto he posted on the internet that shows the defendant posing with the Confederate flag and a burning American flag.