LOWER MANHATTAN (PIX11) — Jurors are expected to begin deliberations Wednesday over the punishment for convicted Manhattan bike path killer Sayfullo Saipov, deciding between life in prison and the death penalty.
The penalty phase of the federal trial wrapped up Tuesday. Now, Saipov’s fate will be in the hands of the same panel that convicted him in the horrific terror attack carried out on Halloween 2017. Saipov drove a truck down a bike path along the Hudson River, killing eight people and injuring about a dozen more.
Saipov, an Islamic extremist born in Uzbekistan, was charged with a slew of federal crimes, including murder in aid of racketeering and supporting a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors have said that Saipov attacked civilians to impress the Islamic State group so he could become a member. Saipov’s defense denied that he conspired with the terror group, and said that he intended to die a martyr.
Jurors must now decide whether Saipov should live out his days behind bars, or be put to death. New York no longer has the death penalty, carrying out its last execution in 1963. However, Saipov’s trial is in federal court, where a death sentence remains an option.
