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Jury to consider death penalty for man convicted of terrorism in 2017 Manhattan bike path killing spree
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Feb 12, 2023
Modified Feb 12, 2023
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Feb 12, 2023
Modified Feb 12, 2023
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Prosecutors will ask 12 jurors in Manhattan federal court on Monday to authorize the execution of Sayfullo Saipov, the man who ran over and killed eight people along the West Side Highway bike path in October 2017 with a rented Home Depot truck.
Saipov, 35, was found guilty of murder and terrorism charges last month. His attack was the deadliest in New York since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Five of the people killed in the attack were tourists from Argentina, one was from Belgium and two were American citizens.
He was also convicted of providing material support for ISIS and 18 counts of attempted murder for others he injured in the attack.
Saipov is from Uzbekistan, and federal prosecutors alleged he carried out the attack to become a member of ISIS.
Prosecutors must secure a unanimous vote from the jurors to proceed with the lethal injection. Saipov would be the first person executed in New York since 1963.
“I expect that he will end up being sentenced to capital punishment,” said David Viola, an adjunct professor at the Center on Terrorism at John Jay College and an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. “Whether or not the administration goes forward with carrying that sentence out is another thing that we'll have to see.”
Viola said Saipov wouldn’t be first in line for the sentence, as Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and white supremacist Dylann Roof have been stalled in the process for years. But he also warned that Saipov’s fate could hinge on the next presidential election.
“It comes down to the politicking of it, frankly, in the next couple of years.”
The Southern District court argued for Saipov’s execution in 2018, citing that he sought to “further the ideological goals of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.”
Saipov’s defense later fought to preclude the death penalty in 2019 based on former President Donald Trump’s requests to the U.S. Attorney General and tweeted that he “SHOULD GET THE DEATH PENALTY.”
Manhattan federal judge Vernon Broderick in 2019 ordered prosecutors could pursue the death penalty for Saipov.
The Department of Justice has continued to seek Saipov’s execution despite President Joe Biden’s promises to abolish capital punishment in federal cases during his campaign.
In a statement, New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said New York has a specific legacy of injustice when it comes to the death penalty.
"This horrific crime should not make us forget our human values and turn our government into a killer. New Yorkers understand that the death penalty is riddled with unfairness and flaws," Lieberman said. "Far too many people on death row have had to be exonerated, and of those, a disproportionate number have been people of color. "
This story has been updated with comment from the NYCLU.
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Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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