SO THE government “won.” Dylann Roof has been sentenced to death. Most Americans, when polled, will probably support the outcome. If ever a crime called out for the maximum punishment, this one was it.

We do not join in the celebration. That is, in part, because we do not believe the government should be in the business of taking the lives of its prisoners. But it is also because of what now stretches ahead: years of appeals and arguments, extended fights over whether Mr. Roof should have been allowed to represent himself in the penalty phase of the trial, millions of dollars of court costs, immeasurable pain for survivors and grieving families. To us, that does not seem preferable to a choice the government could have accepted from the start: life in prison for Mr. Roof, who deserves nothing better than to be locked away and forgotten.

Even before a federal jury delivered its unanimous decision on Tuesday, it seemed inevitable that he would receive the death sentence for his murderous assault on a historic African American church in Charleston. There was a particular horror to the murder of people as they were gathered in prayer. There was never any question of Mr. Roof’s guilt. There was no doubt that he acted out of racial hatred. He showed no remorse, telling the jury in his final argument, “I still feel like I had to do it.”

It took the jury of nine whites and three blacks just three hours to reach its decision in the penalty phase of the case involving the June 17, 2015, attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in which nine people were murdered. The jury last month found Mr. Roof guilty of 33 counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of justice.

Before the trial began, Mr. Roof had offered to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison without possibility of parole. The government rejected that offer even though some of the people whose lives were directly affected by Mr. Roof’s actions favored it. Not only did they show extraordinary grace in their ability to forgive the then-21-year-old gunman, but they didn’t want the trauma of endless appeals that would force them to relive the events of that terrible night.

Mr. Roof sidelined his court-appointed defense attorneys during the penalty phase. He called no witnesses and presented no evidence. So concerned was he that no one say he had psychological problems, he likely denied himself the one viable defense that might have spared his life. Some have speculated that perhaps he actually preferred execution to a long lifetime in a cell. If so, he may get his wish — though, chances are, not for many years.