BUFFALO, N.Y. -- At the beginning of the year, the U.S. Justice Department announced it would seek the death penalty for Buffalo Tops supermarket shooter Payton Gendron.

The announcement signaled a departure from President Joe Biden's campaign promise to end capital punishment and a DOJ moratorium.

"They've had death penalty trials," attorney John Elmore said. "They've had cases where they have instructed the U.S. attorneys to seek the death penalty, such as in the Gendron case, but no one has been executed."

Elmore represents family members of some of the 10 Black people Gendron murdered in a broad civil case. He pointed out while there are currently 40 people on federal death row, not one has been executed under the Biden administration.

"There's a big difference in the Trump administration's view of the death penalty and the Biden administration's," Elmore said.

Since 1976, when the Supreme Court ruled capital punishment is constitutional, but only under certain circumstances, the federal government has executed 16 people. Three were during George W. Bush's presidency.

The other 13 happened during Trump's first tenure in office, including six between when he lost his reelection bid and Biden's inauguration. Elmore believes Trump's return will impact Gendron, who already pleaded guilty during state proceedings and whose federal trial is currently scheduled for September 2025.

"There's going to be some changes and what I would think Gendron's lawyers are doing now is they are knocking on doors in the Justice Department, talking to anybody that will listen to them about giving Gendron the opportunity to plead guilty with life without the possibility of parole," he said.

Gendron is already serving life without parole on the state convictions. Elmore pointed out it will take some time for the Trump administration to appoint a new attorney general and U.S. attorney for New York's Western District, and for the U.S. Senate to confirm those appointments.

He said the families he represents are split on whether Gendron should be executed.