Final Jury Selection Begins in Buffalo Shooter's Death Penalty Trial
The final phase of jury selection began Tuesday in the federal hate crimes trial of Payton Gendron, the gunman who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in 2022. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Gendron has pleaded not guilty to two dozen federal hate crime charges and more than a dozen firearms charges, according to the Associated Press. Jury selection is expected to take weeks.
A Trial About Life or Death
Gendron's guilt is not in question. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to state murder charges, tearfully admitted to the crimes and renounced his past views. He is already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.
His defense team is not disputing that he carried out the attack. Instead, their goal is to keep him from being executed. Life in prison is typically the alternative to a death sentence in a federal capital case.
"Nothing will change the fact that Payton Gendron will die in prison," the federal public defender's office said.
Gendron and his lawyers offered to plead guilty in the federal case in exchange for a life sentence, but the Justice Department rejected the deal. The department decided in 2024, under President Joe Biden, to seek the death penalty. It was the first capital case overseen by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, who had earlier imposed a moratorium on the death penalty.
Finding a Fair Jury
Attorneys on both sides must find jurors who either know little about the heavily covered case or can set aside what they have heard and judge the evidence fairly.
Former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn told Spectrum News that the jury pool will be drawn from the entire federal court district, which stretches from west of Syracuse to Buffalo. He said prosecutors will look for jurors who are fair, patient and open to imposing the death penalty.
"Don't get me wrong, it'll be difficult, but I'm confident at the end of the day, they'll be able to find 12 people," Flynn said. Opening statements could begin in early December.
In the months leading up to jury selection, attorneys argued over what evidence will be allowed at trial, Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported.
What Happened at Tops
On May 14, 2022, Gendron, then 18, drove more than 200 miles from Conklin, a mostly white rural town, to the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo. He fired about 60 shots from a semiautomatic rifle at shoppers and employees.
The 10 people killed ranged in age from 32 to 86. They were Celestine Chaney, Geraldine Talley, Katherine Massey, Pearl Young, Andre Mackneil, church deacon Heyward Patterson, Ruth Whitfield, Roberta Drury, Margus Morrison and Aaron Salter, a retired Buffalo police officer working as the store's security guard. Three other people survived.
Investigators found social media posts and writings in which Gendron planned an attack meant to frighten non-white and non-Christian people into leaving the country. He also promoted the baseless "great replacement" theory. He surrendered to police as he left the store.
Families Remain Divided
Victims' loved ones have mixed feelings about the death penalty. Wayne Jones Sr., whose mother, Celestine Chaney, was killed, plans to attend the trial but does not want Gendron executed. "I really think that he should just sit and have to think about it year after year after year," he said.
Buffalo Common Council member Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire survived the shooting and still has shrapnel in his body, called the attack "domestic terrorism." She said it is important to pursue the death penalty, but that justice will still be served if he does not receive it.
Garnell Whitfield, whose mother, Ruth Whitfield, was killed, said capital punishment is the federal government's decision. He hopes testimony will shed light on what led to Gendron's radicalization.
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