Potential jurors in the federal trial of Payton Gendron, who is already serving a life sentence in state prison for killing 10 black people in a 2022 racially motivated attack at a Buffalo supermarket, were questioned by attorneys on Tuesday about their opinions on the death penalty. Gendron, 23, is charged in a 27-count federal indictment that includes 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges after the Department of Justice rejected his proposal to plead guilty in exchange for them not seeking the death penalty.
The decision to pursue the death penalty was made by the Department of Justice in January 2024 under the Biden Administration while Merrick Garland was serving as the U.S. attorney general.
"We acknowledge that our client, Payton Gendron, caused tremendous loss and suffering at the Tops grocery store by taking ten lives, seriously injuring three others, and traumatizing many more," Gendron's attorneys said in a statement to ABC News.
The attorneys noted that Gendron was just 18 years old when he was arrested in the immediate aftermath of the May 14, 2022 massacre at a Tops supermarket on Buffalo's east side, which he live-streamed on the Internet.
Before the attack, Gendron also posted a racist screed online containing the names of past mass shooters he admired.
Gendron pleaded guilty to state charges, including 10 counts of murder, 3 counts of attempted murder, and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, in February 2023. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 90 years, by an Erie County Court judge who said he deserved "no mercy."
During his state sentencing hearing, Gendron made a statement in court, saying, "I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were Black. Looking back now, I can’t believe I actually did it. I believed what I read online and acted out of hate. I know I can’t take it back, but I wish I could, and I don’t want anyone to be inspired by me and what I did."
In their statement this week, Gendron's attorneys said, "Nothing will change the fact that Payton Gendron will die in prison."
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