Buffalo Shooter Seeks NYC Trial for Fair Jury

Attorneys for Payton Gendron, the white gunman who killed ten Black people in a Buffalo supermarket, are requesting to move his death penalty-eligible trial from Buffalo to New York City, citing difficulties in seating a diverse and impartial jury due to local media coverage and the area's demographics. They argue that a trial in New York City would ensure a more diverse jury pool not directly impacted by the shooting or biased by the extensive media coverage. This request follows concerns about the impact of pretrial publicity and the historical segregation in Buffalo which may hinder an impartial trial. Attorney John Elmore, representing victims' families, believes the change of venue motion is premature and typically addressed during jury selection. Gendron has already been sentenced to life in prison at the state level and is facing federal charges with the trial expected to begin in September.