Jan 12, 2024 - Politics & Policy

DOJ to seek death penalty for Buffalo mass shooter

Ivana Saric

a makeshift memorial across the street from Tops Friendly Market — A makeshift memorial across the street from Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, May 2022. Photo: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The Justice Department plans to seek the death penalty for the white gunman convicted of killing 10 Black people in a "racially motivated" mass shooting in Buffalo, New York in 2022.

Why it matters: This marks the first time that the Biden administration has sought the death penalty in a new case, per AP.

The big picture: Peyton Gendron, 20, was sentenced to life in prison without parole last year after pleading guilty to a slew of state charges, including domestic terrorism motivated by hate.

Gendron also faced 27 felony charges in federal court, including multiple counts of hate crimes that resulted in death, to which he pleaded not guilty.

State of play: While New York does not allow for capital punishment, it is still permitted in sentencing for federal cases.

Gendron had initially said he would plead guilty in the federal case if prosecutors agreed to not pursue the death penalty, per AP.
However, federal prosecutors said in a court filing on Friday that the circumstances of the mass shooting were "such that, in the event of a conviction, a sentence of death is justified."

"The United States will seek the sentence of death for these offenses," they added.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul voiced her support for the decision at a press conference Friday.

"This complies with the DOJ requirements for what constitutes a death penalty offense," she said, adding the Buffalo community is "still reeling from the atrocity" of the mass shooting.

Go deeper: Remembering the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting

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DOJ to seek death penalty for Buffalo mass shooter

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