Emanuel Kidega Samson, 27, center, enters the courtroom Monday, May 20, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Samson is accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Nashville church in 2017. Prosecutors have said they’re seeking life without parole for Samson. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP, Pool)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jurors in Tennessee are deliberating the fate of a black man who killed a woman and wounded seven people at a Nashville church in apparent revenge for the racist massacre of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.
Twenty-seven-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the 2017 shooting of the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ.
Defense witnesses say he suffers from bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress after a violent childhood. His lawyers argued for criminally negligent homicide, not murder.
Prosecutors say he’s conveniently invoking mental illness to avoid responsibility. They’re seeking life without parole.
© Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
