The Buffalo News
Buffalo News: No One Is Safer With Execution
A Buffalo News opinion piece by Paul McQuillen on why execution would not make the community safer or ease the harm caused by the racist Tops massacre.
A July 23, 2026 Buffalo News opinion piece by Paul McQuillen makes a clear local case: an execution would not make Buffalo safer, heal the people most affected by the 2022 racist Tops massacre, or undo the damage already done.
The piece comes as the federal case against Payton Gendron moves forward. It asks readers to consider the real cost of a death-penalty trial and the decades of appeals that can follow, while recognizing that Buffalo's East Side and the families of those killed have already endured an immeasurable loss.
Why this local voice matters
This is not an abstract national debate for Western New York. The violence happened in our community, and the federal prosecution is happening here. McQuillen's opinion keeps the focus on what public safety and accountability can look like without asking a grieving community to carry the added burden of an execution.
Life without parole can permanently remove a person from the public. It also leaves room to direct attention and resources toward survivors, families, and the community work needed after racist violence.
Read the article
Frequently asked questions
What is this Buffalo News opinion piece about?
Paul McQuillen argues that executing Payton Gendron would not make Buffalo safer or lessen the devastating harm caused by the racist 2022 Tops massacre.
Does opposing execution mean minimizing the harm done?
No. The argument is that serious accountability and lasting support for survivors do not require the government to take another life. Life without parole remains available.
Why share a local opinion piece?
The federal death penalty case is happening in Buffalo. This local perspective keeps the public conversation grounded in the community that has already carried the loss and trauma.
Source
This reading note links to Paul McQuillen's July 23, 2026 Buffalo News opinion piece, “Another Voice: No one will be safer by executing another individual.”
Related reading
New York Death Penalty Law
Does New York Have the Death Penalty?
New York does not have a working state death penalty, but federal prosecutors can still seek death in federal cases. Here is the difference.
The New York Times
New York Times Review: Why the Death Penalty Is Dying
A curated reading note on Anand Giridharadas's review of Maurice Chammah's Let the Lord Sort Them and what it adds to the abolition conversation.
New York Death Penalty Law
When Did New York Abolish the Death Penalty?
New York's state death penalty became unusable in 2004, and the last death sentence was vacated in 2007. Here is why both dates matter.