President Joe Biden, a pious man, a religious man with firm convictions, who attends weekly mass (or more), expressed his opposition to the death penalty.
But his creed intersects with politics. Sectors of the Catholic extreme right urged his excommunication for his tolerance of abortion. And now those on the other extreme could demand something similar, when his government's Department of Justice announced that it would demand the capital punishment for Payton Gendron, 19 years old. He killed ten people in a supermarket in Buffalo (New York) where he went in May 2022 with the intention of “killing black people.” That establishment, in an African-American neighborhood, was basically frequented by black people.
Although Merrick Garland, current Attorney General (equivalent to the Minister of Justice), has already requested the death penalty twice, both were inherited from the previous administration. So the request for Gendron is the first that fully corresponds to a decision of the Biden administration.
“The United States considers that the circumstances in this indictment are such that, in the event of a conviction, the death sentence is justified,” the prosecution said in court documentation presented this Friday.
Gendron's lawyers indicated that their client was willing to plead guilty if the maximum sentence was ruled out.
In their brief, federal prosecutors highlight the reason why they believe the execution is justified and that reason is that the defendant “intentionally caused the death” and cites each and every one of the dozen deceased.
They further maintain that Gendron intended to inflict bodily harm with his determination to engage in an act resulting in death and blatant racism associated with the shooting.
“Payton Gendron expressed prejudice, hatred and contempt towards black people and his animosity towards black people played a key role in his crime,” the document insists. The accused himself admitted it: “I did a terrible thing, I shot and killed because they were black.”
Pending trial, a grand jury charged him with 27 crimes on July 22, 2022, ten resulting in death, for the attack he carried out in the Tops supermarket.
Gendron was inspired for his crime by the far-right conspiracy theory about “the replacement,” in which racial and religious hatred is incited because blacks, Hispanics or Muslims are invading the United States and leaving whites in a minority, replacing them in the can.
“He wanted to inspire others to carry out similar attacks,” according to one of his summary statements. His AR-15 was inscribed with the phrases “here are your repairs” and “the great replacement.” Donald Trump's entourage has encouraged this conspiracy on many occasions.
Garland has requested the death penalty twice since he took office as attorney general in the Biden administration, but both came from requests from the prosecutor's office prior to his mandate, under the Trump presidency.
One was for Sayfuyllo Saipov who in October 2017 fatally ran over eight people (five were Argentinian) when attacking a bicycle lane located on the west side of Manhattan. In his case, the jury decided that this sentence was not appropriate and imposed a life sentence.
The second case is that of Robert Bowers, who killed eleven Jews in a synagogue in Pisttburgh (Pennsylvania) in October 2018. The jury handed down the death penalty verdict. The sentence has not been carried out yet. Garland instituted a moratorium on the death penalty handed down by federal courts in July 2021, which remains in effect.
Gendron was already sentenced to life imprisonment, without the right to review, by a state court in February 2023. He pleaded guilty to fifteen crimes of murder and attempts and domestic terrorism motivated by hate.
