Buffalo: US seeks death penalty for gunman in racist shooting

The US federal government is seeking the death penalty for a white gunman who killed 10 people in a racially-motivated 2022 shooting.

The US Department of Justice, in a Biden administration first, said capital punishment is warranted due to the shooting's effect on victims.

Payton Gendron, 20, was sentenced to life in prison last year for the Buffalo, New York, shooting.

Gendron has said he killed people that day "because they were black".

The justice department outlined its arguments for the death penalty in a court filing on Friday. Under President Joe Biden, the federal government has not previously sought capital punishment and the longtime politician has stated his opposition to it.

But on Friday, the agency said in a court filing that the sentence was warranted because Gendron intentionally targeted the victims he killed and injured for their race when he opened fire at a grocery store on 14 May, 2022.

All 10 people who were killed in the shooting at a Buffalo supermarket were black. The victims ranged in age from 32 to 86, and included eight grocery store shoppers, a store security guard and a church deacon that drove people to and from the store to do their shopping.

The gunman's actions that day were planned, premediated, and fuelled by his "bias, hatred and contempt toward Black persons", the agency's court filing says.

Merrick Garland, the US attorney general who leads the justice department, instituted a moratorium on federal executions pending a review of procedures in 2021. This court filing suggests that review has concluded.

New York state does not have capital punishment, but the gunman is facing hate crime and gun charges in a separate federal case. In those federal cases, the Justice Department can seek the death penalty.

Though her state banned capital punishment, Kathy Hochul - New York's governor - said she agreed with the decision.

"This complies with the DOJ requirements for what constitutes a death penalty offense," Ms Hochul said at a press conference on Friday.

Lawyers for the victims and families affected by the shooting said they welcomed the DOJ's request for the death penalty.

"Today's decision by the Department of Justice provides a pathway to both relief and a measure of closure for the victims and their families," the lawyers said. "They have been pleading for full justice for nearly two years, and today they are one step closer."

The gunman, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, had driven more than 320km (200 miles) across the state to a predominantly black neighbourhood before carrying out the attack.

He describes himself as a fascist and white supremacist in a 180-page document that he allegedly wrote before the shooting. He pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges in 2022.

At his sentencing, the judge overseeing the case told the gunman that "there is no place for you or your ignorant, hateful and evil ideologies in a civilized society".

"There can be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances," Erie County Judge Susan Eagan said. "You will never see the light of day as a free man ever again."