Buffalo supermarket shooter wants his death penalty trial moved to NYC for a diverse, impartial jury [View all]

Source: Associated Press

Buffalo supermarket shooter wants his death penalty trial moved to NYC for a diverse, impartial jury

By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Updated 4:40 PM EDT, April 1, 2025

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Attorneys for a white gunman who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket want to move his death penalty-eligible trial to New York City, writing in a court filing that it would be difficult to seat a diverse and impartial jury in the upstate city.

About 85% of Buffalo’s Black residents live in East Buffalo, where the shooting occurred, Payton Gendron’s lawyers wrote Monday, and many would be prevented from serving on the jury because of ties to the case.

“If the verdict in this case is to carry any moral authority, it should be delivered by a diverse group of citizens. But, given the history of segregation in Buffalo, that is exceedingly unlikely” if the case is tried in Buffalo, they said.

The filing also cited the hundreds of local news stories that have been published since the May 2022 attack at the Tops Friendly Market.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/gendron-buffalo-supermarket-racist-mass-shooting-cde8ccfc992afde2407b04b02d2c1d2c