The 20-year-old is serving a life sentence for state charges of murder and hate-motivated domestic terrorism.
Topline
Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Payton Gendron, the white 20-year-old serving a life sentence for a mass shooting that killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York supermarket in 2022, according to a court filing Friday, the first capital punishment case sought by the Biden administration.Key Facts
Gendron—who pleaded not guilty to federal charges in 2022—faces 27 firearms and hate crimes counts, including 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in deaths.
The death penalty was declared unconstitutional in New York in 2007, though it can be applied to sentences in federal cases.
Attorneys representing Gendron previously indicated he would plead guilty to the charges if prosecutors agreed to not pursue the death penalty, the Associated Press reported.
