Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 20 of 20

Thread: Federal Death Penalty Trial Set for Payton S. Gendron in 2022 NY Mass Killing

  1. #11
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Buffalo mass shooting suspect Payton Gendron pleads guilty to all state charges

    Payton Gendron opened fire in May at Tops grocery store, killing 10

    By Greg Norman
    Fox News

    Payton Gendron, the White man accused of killing 10 Black people and wounding three others in a hate-fueled shooting attack in Buffalo, New York earlier this year, has pleaded guilty Monday to all the state charges facing him.

    Gendron pleaded guilty to all the charges in the grand jury indictment, including murder, murder as a hate crime, and hate-motivated domestic terrorism, which carries an automatic sentence of life without parole –- following the May attack at a Tops Market grocery store in a predominantly Black Buffalo neighborhood. Gendron also pleaded guilty to wounding three people who survived the attack.

    "Today, our client pled guilty to every count of the indictment with the full knowledge that he will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole," Gendron's attorney Brian Parker said following the guilty plea. "Though the federal case continues his actions today ensure that there will be no state court trial and he will not appeal."

    "This critical step represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions on May 14," Parker added. "Before he is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, on February 15, the surviving victims and deceased victims family members will all have an opportunity to address the court, the community and our client directly."

    "It is our hope that a final resolution of the state charges will help in some small way to keep the focus on the needs of the victims and the community, because there is still further litigation regarding these events," Parker also said.

    Gendron faces separate federal hate crime charges that could carry the death penalty.

    Authorities said Gendron drove about three hours to Buffalo from his home in Conklin, New York, to carry out the shooting. Shortly before opening fire with an AR-15-style rifle on May 14, he posted documents that outlined his White supremacist views and revealed he had been planning the attack for months.

    Gendron, who was handcuffed and wore an orange jumpsuit, showed little emotion through the 45-minute proceeding, according to The Associated Press. He answered "yes" and "guilty" as the judge referred to each victim by name and asked whether he killed each victim because of their race.

    Immediate relatives of the victims were joined by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and the police commissioner in the gallery.

    The victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86, included eight customers, a store security guard, and a church deacon who drove shoppers to and from the store with their groceries. Three people were wounded but survived.

    "He pled guilty to the domestic state terrorism charge, motivated by hate. That is a relatively new statute in our penal law that was enacted within the past ten years. It has never been used before in the state of New York. No individual in the history of the state of New York has been found guilty of that domestic terrorism charge motivated by hate," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn. "Until today. And he pled guilty to that highest charge today. He also pled guilty to all the first degree murder charges. All ten counts."

    Fox News' Marta Dhanis, Michael Ruiz, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/buffalo-m...-state-charges
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #12
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    4,795
    Fastest court case I've seen.

    Shame that the white people he shot are reduced to "Other". In most of these stories.
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  3. #13
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,318
    Since this is state court it's possible the feds will try him.
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  4. #14
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike View Post
    Fastest court case I've seen.

    Shame that the white people he shot are reduced to "Other". In most of these stories.
    Other refers to victim's; two were Black and one was White. The White survivor was the manager who was shot in the leg. The gunman apologized when he saw he was White and let him live. I think others is just a generic reference because in most cases the articles don't mention the survivors names.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #15
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Prato, Italy
    Posts
    1,275
    Buffalo grocery store mass shooter willing to plead guilty to federal charges if death penalty off the table, attorneys say

    By Mark Morales, Emma Tucker, Ray Sanchez
    CNN

    The gunman who killed 10 people and wounded three in a racist attack at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, would be willing to plead guilty to federal charges – including hate crimes – if prosecutors agree to take the death penalty off the table, his attorneys said Friday.

    Attorneys representing Payton Gendron made their statements during a court hearing on Friday, seven months after Gendron used an illegally modified semiautomatic rifle to carry out the mass shooting.

    Gendron, a 19-year-old White man, had faced multiple federal hate crime charges, which carry the potential for the death penalty, in addition to several firearms charges. He had pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.

    He pleaded guilty in a state court last month to one count of a domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession charge in the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14. Those charges come with a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole.

    “Just as Payton Gendron entered a plea of guilty to the indictment in county court, he is prepared to enter a plea of guilty in federal court in exchange of the same sentence, which is the sentence of life in prison, without parole,” said his defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin.

    Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder in court on Friday balked at giving attorneys more time to review the voluminous evidence connected with the case since Gendron has already pleaded guilty to state charges.

    Gendron’s defense team said in court they plan to take the first steps to meet with the US Attorney in Buffalo and the Assistant Attorney General from Washington so that they can make a formal presentation to as to why Gendron should not get the death penalty.

    The first meetings are scheduled after the new year, attorneys said in court on Friday.

    “There’s a lot to go through and I think that mitigation presentation, obviously, is highly important for them, in addition to the facts of the case, so that’s why we consented this time,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi.

    Judge Schroeder scheduled the next hearing for March 10, during which attorneys will give an update on how much of the evidence they’ve been able to review and if they can work out a deal with prosecutors.

    Meanwhile, Gendron will be sentenced on his state conviction on similar charges in February.

    The victims, including customers, employees and an armed security guard, ranged in age from 20 to 86. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black and two were White, officials said.

    Social media posts and a lengthy document written by the gunman reveal he had been planning his attack for months and had visited the Tops supermarket several times previously. He posted that he chose Tops because it was in a particular ZIP code in Buffalo that had the highest percentage of Black people close enough to where he lived in Conklin, New York.

    The document outlined his goals for the attack, according to Flynn: “To kill as many African Americans as possible, avoid dying and spread ideals.”

    Gendron shot four people outside the grocery store and nine more inside before surrendering to Buffalo Police officers who responded to the scene, according to an indictment.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said following the attack that the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting was legally purchased in New York State, but was modified with a high-capacity magazine, which is not legal in the state.

    The earlier guilty plea ensured there will be no state trial and Gendron will not appeal, defense attorney Brian Parker said.

    https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/09/u...n-gendron-plea

  6. #16
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,318
    Buffalo mass shooter sentenced to life in prison without parole

    Payton S. Gendron, a White male, shot and killed 10 Black people and injured three others at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue on May 14, 2022

    Author: WGRZ Staff

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — The man who admitted to killing 10 Black people in a Buffalo grocery store last year will spend the rest of his life in prison.

    Payton S. Gendron was sentenced in Erie County Court in front of Judge Susan Eagan to life in prison without parole for the domestic terrorism charge and all 10 first degree murder charges.

    Gendron, a White male, shot and killed 10 Black people and injured three others at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue on May 14, 2022.

    Gendron pleaded guilty on November 28, 2022, to 15 state charges.

    10 counts of 1st-degree murder - 1 for each victim

    1 count of domestic terrorism

    3 counts of 2nd-degree attempted murder as a hate crime - 1 for each person injured.

    1 count of 2nd criminal possession of the weapon.

    Judge Eagan described each victim as she handed down each sentence. She told Gendron that he would never see the light of day ever again as a free man.

    Family members who lost loved ones in the May 14 shooting, survivors, as well as others who have been left traumatized gave victim impact statements in court.

    A woman representing the grandchildren of Buffalo mass shooting victim Ruth Whitfield, in her statement, she spoke to Gendron, "You thought you broke us, but you awoke us. Despite our battle scars, you will not win the war. You are a cowardly racist. "Emotions are running high as family members share their statements.

    During the emotional statement by Barbara Massey, the sister of Katherine Massey, a man standing next to her lunged toward Gendron. Several court officers retrained the man and removed him from the courtroom.

    Gendron made a brief statement in court, apologized in court to the families for the pain he caused and expressed his regret for what he had done.

    https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/sp...1-1bb7c0852bc8
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  7. #17
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Judge in Tops mass shooting case: 'Justice delayed is justice denied'

    Hon. Schroeder calls on federal government to act on death penalty decision

    By WKBW Staff

    BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A federal judge lambasted U. S. Attorney General Merrick Garland for taking what — in his opinion — is a long time to decide if the government will seek the death penalty in the case against Payton Gendron.

    Gendron shot and killed 10 people in a racist attack at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue on May 14, 2022. Three others were hurt in the shooting.

    Prosecutors say the next steps in the death penalty process should happen in short order. There have been high-level conversations between the U.S. Attorney's Office in Western New York and Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C.

    At a status conference Thursday morning, U.S. District Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder says there are two issues that are perplexing to him, explaining the Attorney General of the United States of America and the Department of Justice are holding up the question of whether this is death penalty eligible.

    This was a "heinous crime admitted to by the defendant...of hate and racism... why should it take over a year is beyond me," Hon. Schroeder said. He said the public at large has a right to have this disposed of in a speedy time.

    Gendron was not in court for today's proceedings.

    In November 2022 he pleaded guilty to all charges he faced on the state level and in February 2023 he was sentenced to life without parole on those charges.

    According to the defense, Gendron would plead guilty to federal charges if the government decides not to seek the death penalty. If prosecutors do seek the death penalty, the defense counsel would file many motions before trial to spare Gendron's life, attorneys said.

    The judge persisted, "Do the facts of this case...warrant seeking the death penalty? What else does the government need," he emphatically questioned.

    Prosecutors say they expect the next step in deciding if the death penalty is to be sought, in Washington, to happen soon.

    Still, the judge said, "Justice delayed is justice denied...not only to the defendant but to the public as well."

    Schroeder said he would not let this case drag on and set a schedule to have pre-trial hearings and motions filed, even though a decision about the death penalty has not been made.

    All pre-trial motions by the defense that are non-death penalty related must be submitted by August 31st.

    Oral arguments are scheduled for October 24th.

    https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news...justice-denied
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #18
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,318
    Feds to pursue death penalty against Buffalo supermarket shooter

    By Alexander Mallin, Aaron Katersky

    The Justice Department said Friday in a court filing it will seek the death penalty for Payton Gendron, the then-19-year-old who killed 10 people in a racially motivated shooting at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022.

    "United States believes the circumstances in Counts 11-20 of the Indictment are such that, in the event of a conviction, a sentence of death is justified," the filing said.

    Lawyers for Gendron previously said he would consider pleading guilty to the federal charges if the death penalty was taken off the table.

    A federal grand jury returned a 27-count indictment against Gendron in July 2022 charging him with 14 violations of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act: "10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill three injured individuals, and one hate crimes count alleging that Gendron attempted to kill additional Black people in and around the Tops grocery store," according to a statement from the Department of Justice. He was also charged with 13 firearms offenses.

    Gendron was motivated by a racist, far-right conspiracy known as replacement theory and he wanted to "inspire others to commit similar attacks," according to a criminal complaint. Markings on the rifle used in the shooting included the phrases "here's your reparations" and "the great replacement," the complaint said.

    Garland has pursued two death penalty cases under his tenure -- one against Sayfullo Saipov, who killed eight people with a truck on a Manhattan bike path in October 2017, and the second against Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people in a shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in October 2018. A jury decided not to sentence Saipov to death, while Bowers was given the death penalty.

    Both of those cases were carried over from the previous administration, however, and Garland instituted a moratorium on the death penalty in July 2021. The moratorium remains in place.

    MORE: Son of Buffalo mass shooting victim fears death penalty will make suspect 'a martyr'
    Gendron was sentenced to life in prison without parole on state charges in February 2023 after pleading guilty to 15 charges, including domestic terrorism motivated by hate, murder and attempted murder.

    Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan imposed a sentence of life in prison without parole for each of the 10 victims he killed on May 14, 2022, at the Tops market and 25 years for each of the three victims he shot and wounded.

    During the sentencing hearing, Gendron offered a brief apology, saying he was "very sorry for all the pain" he caused "for stealing the lives of your loved ones."

    "I did a terrible thing that day. I shot people because they were Black," Gendron said.

    https://abcnews.go.com/US/justice-de...y?id=106322955
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  9. #19
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,318
    Prosecutors seek 2025 trial for racist gunman who killed 10; warn of 'waves of litigation with no end in sight'

    Patrick Lakamp

    Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to set a trial date of April 14, 2025, for the white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket on May 14, 2022.

    Starting his trial on that date – 35 months from the day of the mass shooting – "is reasonable and ensures that this case proceeds to trial without unreasonable delay," according to the prosecution's motion filed Thursday.

    Prosecutors contrasted their proposal with what they called the "waves of litigation with no end in sight" from Payton Gendron's public defenders.

    "Indeed, their proposed scheduling order contemplates almost a full year of limited pretrial litigation before even discussing a trial date," according to the prosecution's filing. "If the court adopts the defense’s scheduling order, it would not only be inviting delay, it would be ensuring it."

    In its filing, Gendron's defense team called the government’s proposed schedule "unrealistic, at points illogical."

    If adopted, the prosecution's recommended schedule would "complicate and impede the efficient and orderly resolution of this matter."

    Gendron's lawyers proposed a scheduling order with deadlines for defense discovery motions and government responses, as well as challenges to pleadings and evidence through Aug. 28, 2024, when an oral argument/evidentiary hearing could be held.

    Two weeks after the judge's rulings on the defense motions, the two sides would confer and file a joint proposed scheduling order covering other parts of the litigation, including the validity of aggravating factors, motions to suppress and motions to limit video evidence, among other issues, according to the defense filing.

    "Adopting the defense proposal will also avoid creating unrealistic expectations for the surviving victims of the crimes of May 14, 2022, the families of the deceased, and the community at large," according to the defense filing. "A capital trial in this matter would undoubtedly be a highly anticipated, emotionally fraught and intensely difficult time for all concerned."

    The defense team's proposals minimize the likelihood that those most affected by Gendron's crimes would have to ready themselves for a trial more than once, the defense lawyers said.

    The defense proposed what it called "a tiered, sequential approach," in which rulings that would affect eventual litigation are timed to occur first. The defense lawyers said their proposed deadlines would come with "due regard" for the length of time that must be expended by both sides at each stage of the case.

    "That way, unnecessary litigation or re-litigation is avoided, only realistic deadlines are set and the process can be managed as efficiently as possible," according to the defense filing from Senior Litigator MaryBeth Covert, Assistant Federal Public Defender Sonya A. Zoghlin and Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender Anne M. Burger.

    U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo last month asked the prosecutors and defense lawyers to confer and look for areas of agreement for a motion schedule. An oral argument is set for today.

    The prosecution's filing said the defense’s proposed scheduling order "poses a significant risk of prejudice to the government and the public, including the risk of losing witnesses and victims."

    A federal grand jury in July 2022 returned a 27-count indictment against Gendron, including 10 counts of committing hate crimes that resulted in death. The U.S. Justice Department announced in January that it will seek the death penalty for Gendron.

    Gendron has already pleaded guilty in Erie County Court to the racist attack that he livestreamed on the internet as he fatally shot 10 Black people and wounded one Black person and two white people at a Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue.

    Gendron was sentenced to life in prison without parole on his guilty pleas to 10 counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree attempted murder, among other charges.

    There is no death penalty sentence in New York State's courts.

    The government said it asked for the trial date in the spring of 2025 not to "rush" Gendron to trial, but to comply with his constitutional right to a speedy trial, according to the court filing from U.S. Attorneys Joseph Tripi and Brett A. Harvey, as well as trial attorneys Laura B. Gilson and Michael S. Warbel of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.

    "By issuing the scheduling order and setting a trial date, the court will implement guideposts to keep this case on the path to a speedy and fair trial — a basic and most fundamental right underpinning our criminal justice system," according to their filing.

    The defense counsel proposed a schedule of filing deadlines for what it called "the first two waves of litigation." The first wave would encompass motions related to discovery, with the second wave for preliminary legal challenges.

    "Once these initial two waves of litigation are complete, the parties will be in a position, if necessary, to propose a realistic schedule for further proceedings," according to the defense motion.

    "The government would have the defense file its first wave of motions on March 1, approximately six weeks after the notice of intent to seek the death penalty was filed," according to the defense filing. "Recent capital litigation demonstrates that the government’s proposal is impractical."

    While the two sides actively litigate during the first two waves, according to the filing, "the defense would continue the time-consuming work of conducting a mitigation investigation, analyzing the voluminous digital discovery material, and preparing for a trial with the highest possible stakes."

    https://buffalonews.com/news/local/c...cc8bb3852.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  10. #20
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,318
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •