The man behind the cycle path murders in New York in 2017 has been found guilty of 28 offences. Now he risks the USA’s most severe punishment.
In 2017, Sayfullo Saipov drove a pickup truck through a popular bike path in New York, which ended with eight people losing their lives.
On Thursday, the Islamic extremist was found guilty of the attack along with 27 other offences.
The trial took place in a court in Manhattan, a few blocks away from where the attack took place.
Saipov is said to have bowed his head when the verdict was read out, according to the report AP News.
The jury deliberated for more than seven hours over two days before returning their view that the defendant was guilty of murder and of supporting a foreign terrorist organization.
According to the jury, he must have taken inspiration from IS, as large amounts of Islamic propaganda were found on his computer.
On the day of the attack, Saipov allegedly rented a pickup truck, drove along the Hudson River before turning onto the bike path and plowing through a crowd of cyclists.
He then crashed the car into a school bus near the World Trade Center. As he got out of the car, he shouted “God is great” in Arabic with paintball guns in his hands before being shot by a police officer who thought he was carrying a real weapon.
The attack killed a woman from Belgium visiting her family, five friends from Argentina and two Americans. Others suffered permanent injuries, including a woman who lost her legs, according to the report Ap News.
– His actions were senseless, horrific and there is no justification for them, said lawyer David Patton in the courtroom.
The lawyer believes that the death penalty option has been provoked by former President Donald Trump, who tweeted the day after the attack: “SHOULD HAVE THE DEATH PENALTY”.
President Joe Biden introduced a temporary ban on the death penalty when he took office.
Nevertheless, Attorney General Merrick Garland has allowed US prosecutors to argue for America’s harshest punishment in cases from the previous presidency.
