BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s becoming more clear just how large a net will be cast for the jury in the federal trial of Payton Gendron, the man who shot and killed 10 Black people and injured three others at Buffalo supermarket in May 2022.
A judge said Wednesday anywhere from 1,500 to 1,800 jury summonses could go out, with around 1,000 to 1,200 responses expected. Those people would then answer jury questionnaires mid-June, in two shifts every day. That number could still go down, though.
Additionally, while there’s a general idea when Gendron’s trial is expected to start, other factors are still in play, including an appeal regarding aggravating factors to be considered by the jury in sentencing. Three of nine proposed factors were struck down: that Gendron was motivated by racism, that he committed the attack to incite violence by others and that he caused serious injury to three surviving victims. The government is appealing to get those back on the table…