Jury selection in the federal death penalty trial of Payton Gendron entered its second week on Monday, October 19, in Buffalo, New York. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo hopes to seat a jury by mid-November, and the trial could start in late November and run for several months, WBEN reported.
Gendron, now 23, was 18 when he killed 10 Black people at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, 2022. He is already serving life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to state murder charges. The federal case asks a different question, whether he should be executed.
A trial where guilt is not the fight
Gendron faces 27 federal charges, including hate crimes and firearms offenses, according to theGrio. WBEN reported that 20 of those counts make him eligible for the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty, but his lawyers do not dispute that he carried out the attack.
Investigators found racist writings and online posts showing he planned the attack around white supremacist beliefs, including the "great replacement" conspiracy theory. He drove more than 200 miles from his hometown of Conklin, New York, to a predominantly Black neighborhood. The victims ranged in age from 32 to 86 and included Aaron Salter, a retired police officer working as a security guard.
The Justice Department decided in 2024, under President Joe Biden, to seek the death penalty, the Associated Press reported. The government rejected Gendron's offer to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.
That leaves the defense focused on one goal, saving his life. "At trial, we will offer mitigating evidence about Payton that the jury needs to consider in making its decision," his lawyers said in a statement.
Why jury selection takes so long
When questioning began on October 13, lawyers and the judge interviewed prospective jurors one at a time. One said watching the video Gendron livestreamed during the shooting would be too stressful. Another said other countries might respond to such an attack by "stoning" the offender, but said he could still fairly weigh aggravating and mitigating factors.
In a capital case, both sides need jurors who can genuinely consider either sentence. Federal law requires a unanimous jury before a death sentence can be imposed, which means a single juror can decide the outcome, a point explored in our explainer on what happens when a jury cannot agree. The court plans to seat 12 jurors and six alternates.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told the AP the defense will try to reveal "almost every aspect of his life before he committed his crime and even after he committed his crime." Gendron has already renounced his white supremacist views in state court, tearfully, according to the AP. How much weight a jury gives that kind of evidence is the core of the coming penalty phase.
Families divided
The victims' families do not speak with one voice. Buffalo Common Council member Zeneta Everhart, whose son survived the shooting, called the attack "domestic terrorism" and said it is important to pursue the death penalty.
Wayne Jones Sr., whose mother, Celestine Chaney, was killed, said he would rather Gendron spend the rest of his life in prison. "I really think that he should just sit and have to think about it year after year after year and just be miserable," he said.
The case also raises a question defense lawyers ask often. Why try a defendant again when he is already serving life without parole? The answer is that the state and federal governments are separate sovereigns, each with its own laws and its own penalties. The same principle drives the parallel state and federal cases against Luigi Mangione.
It is the kind of case the Two Taps legal panel of Daniel Rosenberg, Michael Dye and Lloyd Golburgh takes apart on the show.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
