Current:Home > InvestSupermarket gunman’s lawyers say he should be exempt from the death penalty because he was 18 -Financial Clarity Guides
Supermarket gunman’s lawyers say he should be exempt from the death penalty because he was 18
View
Date:2025-04-18 22:55:58
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The gunman who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket should be exempt from the death penalty because he was 18 at the time of the attack, an age when the brain is still developing and more vulnerable to negative influences, his defense team said in a new court filing.
The science of brain development has advanced since a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that said executing people under 18 years old was unconstitutional, Payton Gendron’s lawyers wrote. They cited newer research that indicates the brain may continue to develop into the early 20s.
“The science is ... clear and uniform: People under 21 are not yet adults and should not be punished as such,” they said in the filing Monday, arguing against “executing individuals barely old enough to vote, unable to drink legally or rent a car, unable to serve in Congress, and still in the throes of cognitive development.”
Gendron, now 20, is serving 11 sentences of life without parole after pleading guilty to state charges of murder and hate-motivated terrorism for the May 14, 2022, shooting at a store he said he chose for its location in a largely Black neighborhood.
The government has said it would seek the death penalty if Gendron is convicted in a separate federal hate crimes case, set to go to trial next year.
In an additional motion Tuesday, Gendron’s attorneys argued for the dismissal of the federal indictment, questioning the constitutionality of the hate crimes statute and whether its enactment exceeded Congress’s authority.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo had no comment, spokeswoman Barbara Burns said.
“I respect the obligation of Gendron’s defense lawyers to raise every issue to effectively represent their client,” attorney Terrence Connors, who represents relatives of Gendron’s victims, said in an email, “but these issues, for the most part, have been decided adverse to Gendron’s position. Clearly, they are advancing the minority view.”
Investigators said Gendron, who is white, outlined his plans for the attack in an online diary that included step-by-step descriptions of his assault plans, a detailed account of a reconnaissance trip he made to Buffalo in March, and maps of the store that he drew by hand. He livestreamed the assault using a camera attached to a military helmet that he wore. In addition to killing 10 shoppers and store employees, he wounded three people, opening fire with an AR-style rifle first in the supermarket’s parking lot and then inside.
Gendron’s lawyers argue that the Supreme Court’s protection of people under 18 from the death penalty in the 2005 case should be extended to Gendron and others like him.
“Research shows that people in this age group bear a strong resemblance to juveniles under 18 when it comes to their decision-making and behavioral abilities,” they wrote.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Major foundation commits $500 million to diversify national monuments across US
- How Tony Shalhoub and the 'Monk' creator made a reunion movie fans will really want to see
- DeSantis appointees accuse Disney district predecessors of cronyism; Disney calls them revisionist
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Escaped kangaroo punches officer in the face before being captured in Canada
- Norman Lear, Who Made Funny Sitcoms About Serious Topics, Dies At 101
- Massachusetts woman wins $25 million scratch-off game 17 years after winning $1 million
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- A British financier sought for huge tax fraud is extradited to Denmark from UAE
Ranking
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Biden’s campaign will not commit yet to participating in general election debates in 2024
- 'All the Little Bird-Hearts' explores a mother-daughter relationship
- Sean Diddy Combs Denies Sickening and Awful Assault Allegations
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Michigan university bars student vote on issues related to Israel-Hamas war
- Young nurse practicing cardiac arrest treatment goes into cardiac arrest
- US files war crime charges against Russians accused of torturing an American in the Ukraine invasion
Recommendation
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody's Kim Rhodes Says Dylan Sprouse Refused to Say Fat Joke on Set
Iowa man wins scratch-off lottery game, plays again, and then scores $300,000
Daddy Yankee says he's devoting himself to Christianity after retirement: 'Jesus lives in me'
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
The Excerpt podcast: Sandra Day O'Connor dies at 93, Santos expelled from Congress
At least 21 deaths and 600 cases of dengue fever in Mali
Biden to sign executive order on federal funding for Native Americans