NYC bike path attacker is now to spend life in prison after jury fails to reach unanimous verdict on his death penalty
Prosecutors called Sayfullo Saipov a 'proud terrorist' who murdered eight people in New York City on behalf of ISIS.
The convicted murderer who killed eight people and wounded 11 others by speeding down a bike path in Manhattan six years ago will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on the death penalty Monday.
Sayfullo Saipov, a citizen of Uzbekistan who admitted to FBI agents that he carried out the attack on behalf of ISIS on Oct. 31, 2017, was convicted in January of 28 counts, including murder and supporting a terrorist organization.
The jury, which was made up of nine men and three women, deliberated for nine hours over two days before informing the judge on Monday that they could not reach a unanimous decision in the penalty phase of Saipov's trial.
His defense attorney, David Patton, argued that "meeting death with more death is not the answer," telling jurors that Saipov will be sentenced to one of the most "isolated, solitary" facilities in America in Florence, Colorado.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, told the jury that Saipov is "a proud terrorist" who has shown no remorse for his crimes.
"He chose to come to this country and fight for an enemy," Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Houle told jurors. "And it is his choices that call for the most significant punishment that the law provides: the sentence of death."
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New York has not executed an inmate for a federal crime in nearly 70 years. President Biden announced a moratorium on federal executions in 2021, but prosecutors can still seek the death penalty in cases from previous administrations.
Former President Trump tweeted the day after the attack that Saipov "SHOULD GET DEATH PENAL,TY!"