Daughter of Charleston Shooting Victim Opposes Death Penalty for Accused Killer

Sharon Risher, whose mother, Ethel Lance (pictured), and cousins, Susie Jackson and Tywanza Sanders, were killed in the racially-motivated shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church one year ago, says she has not forgiven Dylann Roof, the accused perpetrator, but does not think he should be sentenced to death. In an article for Vox, Risher shared her experiences since the shooting, discussing her emotional reactions to her mother’s death and her views on gun control, the removal of the Confederate flag from South Carolina’s statehouse, and capital punishment. Risher, who is a church chaplain, says that “[t]here is no right way to grieve.” Unlike her sister, Nadine Collier, who publicly voiced her forgiveness of Roof just days after the shooting, Risher is “still in the anger stage” of grieving and says she has not forgiven Roof. Still, she does not believe a death sentence is appropriate. “Despite the anger I am still coping with from my mother’s death, I don’t believe in the death penalty, even for the man who killed her. That’s my conviction because of my faith,” she said. “I don’t believe as human beings that we should take away someone’s life just because we have the power to do so.” A recent poll found that nearly two-thirds of black South Carolinians prefer a sentence of life without parole for Roof if he is convicted.

(S. Risher, “My mom was killed in the Charleston shooting. Executing Dylann Roof won’t bring her back.” Vox, June 15, 2016.) See Victims.