BUFFALO, N.Y. – Federal prosecutors have announced that they will seek the death penalty for a white supremacist who killed 10 Black individuals in a mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket. This decision was revealed in a court filing on Friday.
Payton Gendron, 20, is currently serving a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole after pleading guilty to state charges of murder and hate-motivated domestic terrorism in the 2022 attack.
The Justice Department, in the filing, cited the substantial planning that went into the shooting, including the choice of location – a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo’s largely Black East Side neighborhood – which was said to be intended to “maximize the number of Black victims.”
Even though New York does not have capital punishment, the Justice Department had the option of seeking the death penalty in a separate federal hate crimes case. The gunman had promised to plead guilty in that case if prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.
Relatives of the victims had expressed mixed views on whether they thought federal prosecutors should pursue the death penalty. After meeting with prosecutors hours before a Friday hearing in the case, some family members of victims shared their thoughts.
On May 14, 2022, the gunman attacked shoppers and workers with a semi-automatic rifle at the supermarket in Buffalo. He livestreamed the massacre, which resulted in the deaths of eight customers, the store security guard, and a church deacon who drove shoppers to and from the store with their groceries. Three people were wounded but survived.
The Justice Department has made federal death penalty cases a rarity since President Biden’s election, as he opposes capital punishment. This is the first time Attorney General Merrick Garland has authorized a new pursuit of the death penalty. He instituted a moratorium on federal executions in 2021 pending a review of procedures, although the moratorium does not prevent prosecutors from seeking death sentences.
In conclusion, the gunman’s lawyers expressed deep disappointment with the decision to seek the death penalty and emphasized that he was 18 years old at the time of the massacre. Overall, this case has raised questions about federal death penalty cases and the approach of the Justice Department under the current administration.