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The Justice Department said Friday in a court filing it will seek the death penalty for Payton Gendron, the then-19-year-old who killed 10 people in a racially motivated shooting at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022.
“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,” the filing said.
Lawyers for Gendron previously said he would consider pleading guilty to the federal charges if the death penalty was taken off the table.
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 also cited Gendron’s intentional infliction of bodily injury, intentional participation in an act resulting in death and the blatant racism associated with the shooting.
“Payton Gendron expressed bias, hatred, and contempt toward Black persons and his animus toward Black persons played a role,” the filing said.
