With Dylann Roof charged with murder, some Charleston and South Carolina officials say that the shooter should face hate crimes charges and the death penalty for killing nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. But a Christian named Marcus Stanley has left a moving message on Facebook that calls for hope.
In a related report by the Inquisitr , witnesses claim Dylann Storm Roof said he needed to carry out the attack due to black rapists and African Americans supposedly taking over the country. According to his friends, Roof is hoping to promote a race war in the United States with his attack, and his friends claimed he was obsessed with Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, the Baltimore riots, and everything associated with the Black Lives Matter group.
“He said he was planning for about six months to do something crazy,” said Roof’s friend, Joseph Meek. “He wanted it to be segregated. He wanted it to be white with the white, black with the black. All the races segregated. He wanted to do something big, like the Trayvon Martin case. He was upset about it. It made him mad.”
After a Friday hearing, authorities had Dylann Roof charged with nine counts of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime as part of the Charleston shooting . Roof is expected to have a bond hearing at 2 p.m. EST in a South Carolina court, according to FOX8.
While the future for Roof certainly is bleak, a 30-year-old gospel musician named Marcus Stanley posted a message on Roof’s now-deleted Facebook page inviting him to seek Jesus Christ. Stanley, who is black himself, does not look at Dylann with hatred for his attacks on black people, but instead offers hope.
“I don’t look at you with the eyes of hatred, or judge you by your appearance or race, but I look at you as a human being that made a horrible decision to take the lives of nine living and breathing people,” Stanley wrote. “Children do not grow up with hatred in their hearts. In this world we are born color blind. Somewhere along the line, you were taught to hate people that are not like you, and that is truly tragic.”
Stanley wrote this message before the authorities charged Dylann Roof with murder, so he referred to the manhunt by asking Roof to pick up his phone to read the message.
“Give your heart to Jesus and confess your sins with a heart of forgiveness. He is the only one that can save your soul and forgive you for this terrible act that you have done,” Stanley said. “I love you Dylann… even in the midst of the darkness and pain you’ve caused. But more importantly, He loves you.”
Do you think South Carolina should have Dylann Roof charged with a hate crime? What do you think about Marcus Stanley’s message?
[Image via Young Conservatives and Facebook]
