Manhattan federal prosecutors say they’ll seek the death penalty for “bike path terrorist” Sayfullo Saipov, who stands accused of killing eight people in an ISIS-inspired attack in lower Manhattan last year.
In a five-page memo released Friday, prosecutors said they have determined “a sentence of death is justified” if Saipov is convicted at trial. They cited Saipov’s “lack of remorse” and “future dangerousness,” saying he continues to support ISIS from prison.
Saipov, 30, was arrested last year for using a Home Depot rental truck to drive through a crowded bike path on Halloween in what the feds claim was an ISIS-inspired attack.
Prosecutors said the Uzbeki immigrant asked to fly an ISIS flag outside the hospital room where he was brought after being shot by cops. FBI agents also found ISIS propaganda on his phone, including videos of ISIS fighters “killing a prisoner by running the prisoner over with a tank,” and “a video of a beheading,” they said.
Saipov’s court-appointed lawyer, David Patton, said in a statement that “the decision to seek the death penalty rather than accepting a guilty plea to life in prison with no possibility of release will only prolong the trauma of these events for everyone involved.”
If the judge OKs the death penalty, a jury will decide whether to impose it at trial.