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Jury selection began Tuesday (October 13) in the federal hate crimes trial of Payton Gendron, who killed 10 Black people in a 2022 shooting at a Buffalo supermarket. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
According to the Associated Press, Gendron, now 23, is already serving life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to state murder charges in 2023.
He has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime and firearms charges, though his defense team does not dispute his guilt.
The Justice Department decided in January 2024 to seek the death penalty. Prosecutors also rejected Gendron’s offer to plead guilty in the federal case in exchange for a life sentence.
The May 14, 2022, attack at Tops Friendly Market is believed to be the deadliest hate-motivated shooting targeting Black people by a lone gunman in the United States in the past century, according to the AP.
Gendron drove roughly 200 miles from Conklin, New York, a town near Binghamton, to Buffalo before opening fire on shoppers and employees at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
The AP reported that victims’ families have expressed differing views on whether Gendron should be executed.
Wayne Jones Sr., whose mother, Celestine Chaney, was among those killed, said he would rather see Gendron spend the rest of his life in prison.
“I really think that he should just sit and have to think about it year after year after year and just be miserable,” Jones told the AP.
Zeneta Everhart, whose son, Zaire Goodman, survived the shooting, said the attack caused lasting trauma for survivors and their families.
The trial’s evidence phase is tentatively scheduled to begin in December, with proceedings expected to continue through February 2027. If Gendron is convicted of a capital offense, jurors will decide whether he receives the death penalty or life in prison.
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