Gendron faces federal death penalty charges

Payton Gendron, twenty-three, is charged in a twenty-seven-count federal indictment including ten counts of hate crimes resulting in death for the May fourteen, twenty twenty-two attack.

Already serving life on state charges

Gendron pleaded guilty to state charges in February twenty twenty-three and was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus ninety years for killing ten Black people at a Buffalo supermarket.

He rejected a plea deal

Gendron pleaded not guilty to federal charges after the Department of Justice rejected his proposal to plead guilty in exchange for them not seeking the death penalty.

Biden administration chose death penalty

The Department of Justice decided to pursue the death penalty in January twenty twenty-four under the Biden administration while Merrick Garland was serving as U.S. attorney general.

The May twenty twenty-two attack

On May fourteen, twenty twenty-two, Gendron, then eighteen, livestreamed a massacre at a Tops supermarket on Buffalo's east side, killing ten people and seriously injuring three others.

Gendron's statement at state sentencing

At his state sentencing, Gendron said: I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were Black. I believed what I read online and acted out of hate.

“I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were Black.”

Defense says he will die in prison

Gendron's attorneys stated: Nothing will change the fact that Payton Gendron will die in prison. They said they will offer mitigating evidence at trial for the jury to consider.

“Nothing will change the fact that Payton Gendron will die in prison.”

Jury selection challenges emerge

One potential juror said she could not mentally handle graphic evidence including the livestream video. Another said the death penalty should exist on a case-by-case basis.

“I mentally cannot handle that.”

Judge outlines jury and timeline

Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo said twelve jurors and six alternates will be selected. The evidence portion is tentatively scheduled to begin in December, with proceedings expected through February twenty twenty-seven.

Death penalty requires unanimous jury decision

If Gendron is convicted of at least one capital murder charge, the jury must unanimously decide to impose death. If even one juror votes for life, the judge must impose life in prison.

Jury selection will take several weeks

About one thousand two hundred potential jurors who completed an initial questionnaire in June were summoned to court for more extensive questioning to determine if they can serve as fair and impartial jurors.