Mental state revealed
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Documents unsealed in federal court reveal new details about the mental health of convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, including a psychiatrist’s finding that his disorders make it hard for him to focus, interact with others or express emotion.
Roof’s psychiatric records remain sealed, as do the transcripts from two competency hearings that were closed to the public over objections by media organizations, including The Associated Press.
But other information unsealed this week describes Roof’s mental state, a topic the 22-year-old defendant tried to keep out of his sentencing after insisting on representing himself.
Quoting from a psychiatrist’s testimony during one of those hearings, his lawyers wrote “the defendant suffers from ‘Social Anxiety Disorder, a Mixed Substance Abuse Disorder, a Schizoid Personality Disorder, depression by history, and a possible Autistic Spectrum Disorder.”’
