Lawyers of church shooter argue federal death penalty unconstitutional

(Reuters) - Attorneys for a white man accused of killing nine black parishioners in a racially motivated attack at a South Carolina church a year ago argued that their client should not face the death penalty, asserting the punishment is unconstitutional. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Dylann Roof, 22, who is accused of opening fire on a Bible study session at Charleston's historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015. Attorneys for Roof argued in a document filed in a U.S. District Court in South Carolina on Monday that the federal death penalty is "cruel and unusual punishment" and, as a result, violates the U.S. Constitution.