Payton Gendron to face death penalty in fed hate crimes case

August 2024 · 3 minute read

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Federal prosecutors are taking the rare step of seeking the death penalty in the case of the Buffalo supermarket shooter who slaughtered 10 people in a racist horror in 2022.

Payton Gendron, a 20-year-old white supremacist, is currently serving a life sentence without parole in what was a separate state case on charges of murder and hate-motivated domestic terrorism. 

While New York does not have capital punishment, the feds can still pursue the ultimate penalty in its separate federal hate-crimes case against Gendron.

Prosecutors with the US Attorney’s Office in the Western District of New York filed court papers Friday announcing their intention to seek the federal execution of Gendron, despite his prior promise to plead guilty in the case if they didn’t.

Gendron planned the deadly May 14, 2022, attack on the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo “in order to maximize the number of Black victims,” the feds wrote in Friday’s filing.

Payton Gendron will face the death penalty in his federal hate crimes suit. AP
Gendron attacked shoppers and workers with a semi-automatic rifle at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo. AP

The young prison convict’s lawyers issued a statement Friday saying they are “deeply disappointed,” highlighting that their client was only 18 when he carried out the heinous acts and that he would be behind bars for the rest of his life anyway in the state case.

“Rather than a prolonged and traumatic capital prosecution, the efforts of the federal government would be better spent on combatting the forces that facilitated this terrible crime, including easy access to deadly weapons and the failure of social media companies to moderate the hateful rhetoric and images that circulate online,” his lawyers’ statement said.

The feds infrequently seek capital punishment — but the extreme request has become even more rare during President Biden’s time in office, as he is staunchly against the punishment. 

The Justice Department suspended the use of the death penalty in 2021 to review its procedures, and that pause continues today. But that does not prohibit prosecutors from still seeking Gendron’s execution.

Gendron pleaded guilty Feb. 15 to state charges involving the killing of Roberta Drury, Pearl Young, Heyward Patterson, Ruth Whitfield, Celestine Chaney, Aaron Salter, Andrew Mackniel, Margus Morrison, Katherine Massey and Geraldine Talley.

Gendron had promised to plead guilty in that case if prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. AP

Related lawsuits have been filed since the massacre, including two brought against social media giants Google, YouTube and Reddit in August for allegedly enabling the gunman by promoting “extreme and hateful” content.

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed her own civil case against the maker of a gun safety part that she alleged Payton was easily able to bypass to make his firearm even deadlier. 

A rep for the US Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.

With Post wires

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