Sayfullo Saipov, the terrorist who killed eight people and injured at least a dozen others by driving a rented flatbed truck onto a Manhattan bike path, will be sentenced to life in prison. Jurors were split on the death penalty, dealing a blow to federal prosecutors who persevered in asking for it despite mixed signals from the DOJ.
The case marks the conclusion to the first death-penalty trial under President Joe Biden. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice’s intention is to seek the death penalty only for crimes that cause great harm to the nation, such as hate crimes and terrorism. It has sought to otherwise do away with federal death-penalty prosecutions.
U.S. attorneys have not been authorized to seek death sentences in any new cases, and they have also been prevented by the DOJ from seeking the death penalty in most cases inherited from the previous administration. The prosecution of Patrick Crusius, who killed 23 in a racially-motivated attack on a Walmart in El Paso, is an example of a case that did not clear the bar.
Saipov’s is one of only seven inherited cases that did. Another is that of Robert Bowers, who killed eleven at the Tree of Life synagogue.
Prosecutors had Garland’s approval to seek the death sentence because of the severity of the case and Saipov’s lack of remorse.
“On October 31, 2017, Sayfullo Saipov stole eight innocent lives — and devastated the lives of many more — in a horrendous terrorist attack. This evil act was fueled by Saipov’s allegiance to ISIS, an allegiance which Saipov proudly maintained after the attack and up through his trial,” said U.S. attorney Damian Williams in a statement.
“He is not remorseful, and the evidence shows that he is dangerous even in prison,” said assistant U.S. attorney Amanda Houle, as quoted by the Journal. The government argued forcefully that “death begets death.”
Saipov was convicted of all 28 counts he faced, including nine that carried a maximum sentence of death. With jurors unable to agree on handing the death penalty to Saipov, the statutorily-mandated sentence of life in prison will apply. His lawyers said during trial that he is expected to serve his life sentence at the Federal Bureau of Prisons ADX facility in Florence, Colo., in solitary confinement at least 22 hours a day, according to CNN.
Though Biden campaigned on ending the federal death penalty, there has been radio silence from the president on the issue since he took office. The mixed signals from the DOJ have also confused those who care about the death-penalty issue.
Federal executions themselves have been in limbo since 2021 when Garland imposed a moratorium so the DOJ could review policies and procedures. Conversely, the DOJ under former attorney general Bill Barr resumed federal executions after nearly two decades in 2019, putting 13 inmates to death before Biden took office.