In a court filing on Friday, the Justice Department announced its intention to pursue the death penalty for Payton Gendron, the individual who, at the age of 19, carried out a racially motivated shooting, resulting in the deaths of 10 people at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022.
The filing stated, “United States believes the circumstances in Counts 11-20 of the Indictment are such that, in the event of a conviction, a sentence of death is justified.”
Previously, Gendron’s lawyers indicated that he would be open to considering a guilty plea for the federal charges if the death penalty was removed as an option, ABC News reported.
In the filing, federal prosecutors outlined the reasons why they believe a death sentence is warranted, saying, “Gendron intentionally killed Roberta Drury, Pearl Young, Hayward Patterson, Ruth Whitfield, Celestine Chaney, Aaron W Salter Jr., Andre Mackniel, Marcus Morrison, Katherine Massey and Geraldine Talley.”
The Justice Department additionally referenced Gendron’s deliberate causing of bodily harm, intentional involvement in an act leading to death, and the overt racism connected to the shooting.
“Payton Gendron expressed bias, hatred, and contempt toward Black persons and his animus toward Black persons played a role,” the filing said.
The choice to pursue the death penalty comes after over a year of internal discussions within the Justice Department, as reported by ABC News.
While Attorney General Garland has publicly expressed reservations about the death penalty, and President Joe Biden campaigned on federal abolition, the absence of a formal policy from the Biden administration led DOJ officials to engage in debates over establishing a “worst-of-the-worst” threshold.
This threshold would guide the recommendation of a death sentence in cases involving severe instances of hate-driven mass acts of terror.
Written by B.C. Begley
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B.C. Begley 