The man convicted of killing eight people on a Manhattan bike path in an attack motivated by Islamic extremism in October 2017 will not get the death penalty.
A jury on Monday could not unanimously vote to hand a death sentence down to Sayfullo Saipov, meaning he will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The same jurors who found Saipov guilty on all charges in January reconvened for the penalty phase of his trial in mid-February. One member of the original jury was replaced by an alternate juror last week due to a family emergency, forcing deliberations to restart.
What You Need To Know
- Sayfullo Saipov, who was convicted of killing eight people on a Manhattan bike path in an attack motivated by Islamic extremism in 2017, will not get the death penalty
- A jury on Monday could not unanimously vote to hand a death sentence down to Saipov, meaning he will be sentenced to life in prison without parole
- Prosecutors said Saipov drove a rented truck down a bike path on the West Side Highway on Oct. 31, 2017, killing eight people and injuring a dozen others
Saipov’s was the first death penalty trial being heard under President Joe Biden, who previously pledged to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level. A death sentence required a unanimous vote from the jury members.
Prosecutors said Saipov drove a rented truck down a bike path on the West Side Highway on Oct. 31, 2017, killing eight people and injuring a dozen others.
The New Jersey resident had planned to continue his rampage, but an NYPD officer shot him before he could reach the Brooklyn Bridge, according to prosecutors.
Several victims who survived being hit testified during his trial, including a Belgian woman who lost her legs in the attack.
Prosecutors seeking the death penalty for Saipov maintained he showed “no remorse” after the attack. His defense attorney, meanwhile, urged the jury to spare him a death sentence, saying they should “not be like him.”
While Saipov carried out the attack in an effort to join ISIS, he had never been in contact with the terrorist organization, prosecutors said.
A judge will set a date for his official sentencing, but the default sentence is life in prison without parole.