White Gun Man Who Murdered 10 Black People Will Plead Guilty To Avoid Death Penalty
By NBC News
The white gunman who pleaded guilty to state charges in the massacre of 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket is willing to plead guilty to federal charges if spared the death penalty, his lawyer said in court Friday.
Payton Gendron, 19, pleaded guilty last month to state charges of murder and hate-motivated terrorism in the May 14 mass shooting at Tops Friendly Market.
His guilty plea in the state case guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
But he still faces separate federal hate crime charges that could result in a death sentence if convicted.
Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. asked lawyers at a status conference in the federal case Friday why they were devoting time and effort to evidence related to Gendron’s guilt when he has already pleaded in state court.
Defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin said Gendron is prepared to enter a guilty plea in federal court in exchange for a life sentence.
“It is still our hope to resolve this matter short of a trial,” she said.
However, the Justice Department has yet to decide whether to seek capital punishment in the case.
