Should Dylann Roof receive the death penalty?/Will he?

[RFayette]

Yes and yes.  Mass murderers like him deserve the death penalty.

[RFayette]

Everyone knows supermax is terrible.

But here's the thing:  death row is supermax conditions in nearly every state.  People sentenced to LWOP on murder beats only get solitary if it's federal time (at ADX Florence) or in some states which love supermax (like Colorado's state prison system).  At the state system, Roof might get protective custody, but that's often not as bad as death row conditions.  In some areas, the PC inmates can interact with each other, just not the general population. 

I think most people would find California's PC units (SNY's), which have a yard and some interaction, much nicer than their death row (which is supermax basically), for instance. Of course, Roof could get raped and beat up in that environment, but I think it's still preferable to the tedium of pure isolation.

So if you want supermax isolation, then the death penalty guarantees it.  LWOP doesn't necessarily.