Buffalo supermarket gunman faces death penalty trial

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 13:32 · Archive

Jury selection begins in the federal capital trial of Payton Gendron, who killed 10 Black people in a 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting.

Jury selection begins Tuesday in the federal capital trial of Payton Gendron, who killed 10 Black people at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo on 14 May 2022. The attack stands as the deadliest hate-motivated shooting targeting Black people by a single gunman in modern U.S. history. Gendron faces 27 federal hate crime charges and 20 firearms charges. He is already serving life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to state murder and terrorism charges in 2023, when he tearfully admitted to the massacre and renounced his white supremacist views.

Gendron's federal defence team will not dispute his guilt. Instead, their focus is on preventing a death sentence. The Federal Public Defender's Office said in a statement: 'Nothing will change the fact that Payton Gendron will die in prison. At trial, we will offer mitigating evidence about Payton that the jury needs to consider in making its decision.'

Victims' families differ on whether Gendron should face execution. Wayne Jones, whose 65-year-old mother Celestine Chaney was killed, said he opposes the death penalty, believing Gendron should instead face decades of imprisonment. Buffalo common council member Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire survived the shooting, said she has not advocated for capital punishment, noting the ten deaths occurred 'in an egregious way and in an awful, terrible, traumatic way.'

How it is being reported

• Jury selection begins in hate crimes trial for Buffalo supermarket gunmanTrial could see white supremacist who killed 10 people in New York state store get the death penalty Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday in the trial that could see the white supremacist who killed 10 people in a 2022 Buffalo supermarket get the death penalty. The attack is believed to be the deadliest shooting targeting Black people in modern history. Continue reading...Guardian World · 13 Oct, 13:14
• Buffalo supermarket gunman faces death penalty four years after racist massacreJury selection is set to begin Tuesday in the trial that could see the white supremacist who killed 10 people in a 2022 Buffalo supermarket get the death penaltyIndependent World · 13 Oct, 09:32

In this story: Payton Gendron · Buffalo · Celestine Chaney · Wayne Jones · Zeneta Everhart · Zaire Everhart · Tops Friendly Market

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