Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to allow jurors in the upcoming death penalty trial of admitted Tops mass shooter Payton Gendron to view the full GoPro video he recorded during his May 14th, 2022, attack, arguing the footage represents the most direct evidence of the crimes charged against him.
At the same time, prosecutors say they intend to spare jurors from some of the most disturbing visual evidence by voluntarily excluding autopsy photographs and limiting the use of particularly graphic crime scene images unless circumstances during trial make their introduction necessary.
The competing filings, recently made public in federal court, reveal a growing legal battle over what evidence jurors should see when the trial begins later this year. While prosecutors argue the videos are indispensable to proving their case, defense attorneys contend that the government’s planned presentation goes well beyond what is necessary and risks unfairly influencing jurors through repeated exposure to highly emotional evidence…