NEW YORK – United States prosecutors argued yesterday that an Uzbek man who killed eight people in New York six years ago should be executed, despite President Joe Biden’s opposition to the death penalty.
The sentencing trial of Sayfullo Saipov is the first federal prosecution during Biden’s tenure, in which the Justice Department (DoJ) is seeking capital punishment.
Although the Biden administration declared a moratorium on all federal executions, if Saipov receives the sentence he could be put to death, either under a future president or if the moratorium is lifted.
The same 12 jurors who last month convicted Saipov of several murder and terrorism charges were back in court yesterday to hear opening arguments in the sentencing phase of the trial.
“We will ask you to impose a sentence of death, not because it’s easy, but because it’s (the) appropriate penalty in this case,” said prosecutor Amanda Houle.
Saipov, now 35, drove a rented pickup truck down a Manhattan bike path as New Yorkers prepared to celebrate Halloween on October 31, 2017.
The dead included a group of five friends from Argentina. At least 12 other people were injured before police shot Saipov in the abdomen.
It was the deadliest attack in New York since the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda hijackings brought down the World Trade Center.
Saipov, who moved to the United States in 2010, claimed to have acted in the name of the Islamic State jihadist group, which described him as one of its “soldiers”.
He expressed no remorse during his trial, which heard harrowing testimony from victims.
“He is proud of what he has done,” said prosecutor Houle.
Immediately following the attack, then-president Donald Trump called for Saipov to be executed, and the DoJ sought the ultimate penalty in its initial filings.
Under Biden, the DoJ has maintained that stance.
Biden promised to abolish capital punishment for federal crimes during his presidential campaign. He has not done so but his attorney-general, Merrick Garland, announced the moratorium in July 2021.
Experts suggest the department appears to favour capital punishment for terror offences.
“The cycle of death has to stop somewhere,” David Stern, one of Saipov’s lawyers told the court, urging jurors to choose life imprisonment for his client.
“He will die in jail, the only remaining question is when,” the attorney added.
Jurors will need to reach a unanimous decision, and Saipov would still have opportunities to appeal.
In America, most executions are carried out by states, not the federal government.
New York has abolished the death penalty at the state level, last executing a defendant in 1963. – AFP, February 14, 2023
