BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Department of Justice plans to seek the death penalty against the man who shot and killed 10 Black people in a mass shooting at a Tops grocery store in Buffalo on May 14, 2022.
The notice of intent to seek the death penalty was filed by prosecutors just before noon Friday ahead of a scheduled appearance for the gunman, Payton Gendron.
The families of the 10 victims and those injured in the attack had been called to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo at 11 a.m. Friday and were some of the first to learn of the DOJ's decision.
Feelings were mixed about the decision, much like the opinions among family members were before the announcement.
"I think no reason needs to be given. You know, he committed a domestic terrorist attack killing 10 unarmed African Americans while also affecting the lives of three more," said Mark Talley outside the federal U.S. District court for the Western District of New York.
Talley lost his mother Geraldine in the racist attack and added that he felt the gunman should be left to contemplate his actions for the rest of his life, rather than be executed.
"I have no problem with them doing it, like I said I'm a more darker person, I would have preferred he stays locked up right here in jail for the rest of his life surrounded by people who want to kill him every day," Talley said.
The decision to seek the death penalty has been many months in the making, after several postponements it was unclear how the Biden administration and the Office of the U.S. Attorney General under Merrick Garland would act.
This is the first time Garland has authorized a new case involving the death penalty.
New York does not have capital punishment and the gunman had already pleaded guilty to murder charges back in November of 2022 and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Gendron's lawyers had previously told prosecutors he would plead guilty if they agreed not to seek the death penalty. He will now be tried in a separate federal hate crimes case.
"It's very disheartening," said Michelle Spight, the niece of Pearl Young and a cousin of Margus Morrison, both of whom tragically died in the hate-filled attack.
Spight explained that the DOJ took feedback and weighed every family member's opinions and the immense amounts of evidence in making their decision. There was never consensus amongst the families, however.
"For my family's sake, I wanted them to have closure, I can't imagine...to never have closure and to always be in this circus is exhausting and exasperating and disheartening," Spight said.
She added her worry is this case could go on forever, although others like Zeneta Everhart whose son Zaire Goodman was struck by a bullet in the Tops supermarket but survived said she already feels that way.
In a statement, Gendron's assigned attorney Sonya Zoghlin said she was "deeply disappointed" in the government's decision.
"We are deeply disappointed with the Attorney General's decision to seek the death penalty against our client, who was 18 when he committed this crime and is already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole. 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."
During a scheduled 2 p.m. court appearance Gendron's defense and the prosecution discussed laying the groundwork for the trial going forward. Another hearing before District Judge Lawrence Vilardo was set for February 2 at 9:30 a.m.
It is not clear when the federal criminal trial could begin but it's not impossible that it could start before the end of 2024. The trial is expected to take weeks once underway.
"The process goes forward with a guilt phase and then a penalty phase all to be decided all to be decided by a jury," said attorney Terry Connors who is representing 7 families in separate civil cases related to the shooting.
While Gendron may ultimately be convicted the sentence of death may never be carried out as the defense will have the opportunity during sentencing to argue against it.
Everhart added that while she is personally opposed to the death penalty she'd respect whatever decision the U.S. Attorney General made.
"I believe in the greater good of that right? There should be a trial, the country should see what happened that day, they should know what led up to that, they should hear all about the manifesto and the guns that he used and modified and the country has to hear that so I'm satisfied," Everhart said.
You can read the full notice of intent here:
RELATED VIDEO:
