BUFFALO, N.Y. — Time wasted. That’s how defense attorneys for the Buffalo mass shooter are describing the discovery process within Peyton Gendron’s federal death penalty case.
Gendron will spend life in prison without parole for the racially motivated shooting that killed 10 Black people and injured three at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo on May 14, 2022.
At the core, for all parties involved at this point, the key word is frustration. The issues stem from three items:
- A spreadsheet provided by the government prosecution that the defense says does not give them an expeditious way to sort through files and reports
- Tens of thousands of documents now have two different sets of identification numbers, so it’s proving difficult for the defense to match up
- The defense is hoping to get extensions to sort through it all
Victims' families say they are tired of the back and forth.
"My hope is that they actually just sit down and do their jobs," said current Buffalo City Common Councilwoman Zeneta Everheart, whose son is a survivor of the shooting. "I understand that lawyers have big jobs. They have a lot of cases going on simultaneously. But at the same time, this is what you signed up for. You need to do your job. And I don't want to, I hate to keep hearing another 30 days, another 30 days, another 30 days. Because it's hard for the families."
Everheart and Barbara Massey, whose sister Kat was killed, sat patiently in the courtroom on Wednesday as legal logistics were discussed.
The end result of the day's proceedings saw a 30-day extension for the defense with the prosecution ordered to give them a clearer roadmap of the files and reports.
Judge Lawrence Vilardo put his foot down, telling the courtroom that the beginning of the trial would not be pushed back from its September 2025 timeframe.
While the government prosecution stated addressing issues with the documents would be a "herculean task," the judge cited it is based on issues created by the government in the first place, and ordered a clearer roadmap of the documents to be sent over to the defense.
The defense said it's not looking for extensions, just the proper time to be able to go through evidence.
The next set date in the process for proceedings on the criminal side of things is Jan. 13, where there could be a status update or we could be closer to both sides moving in on trial and motions.