He Uzbek Sayfullo Saipovblame for kill eight people (including five Argentines) five years ago in NYmanaged today to dodge the death penalty for the disagreements in the jury, but he will have to spend the rest of his days in jail, reported the United States press.
The jury was to decide whether Saipov was sentenced to death or life imprisonmentbut since it was impossible to achieve a unanimous ruling, he will have the one that is supposed to be the lighter of the two possible sentences, without the possibility of release.
The convicted person will spend 22 hours a day alone in his cellaccording to the television stations Telemundo and Univisión.
Saipov did not appear to express any emotion or reaction as he listened to the translation of the Judge Vernon Broderick as he read the lengthy verdict, and just stared ahead, listening through headphones at the defense table.
The 34 year old man was found guilty in January in a federal case for killing eight people in a Manhattan bike lane five years ago in an attempt to impress a terrorist group.
The defense had requested a mistrial, but the jurors deliberated last Thursday without reaching a decision, and continued today with the same result.
Saipov, an Uzbek citizen who lived in New Jersey at the time of the 2017 Halloween Day (October 31) attack, he drove a rented Home Depot van at least 10 blocks down the popular Hudson River Greenway bike path, striking nearly a dozen pedestrians and cyclists before colliding with a school bus.
The attack killed a Belgian woman who was visiting with her family, two Americans and five Argentine friends who were celebrating 30 years as graduates of a Rosario school in the city.
The Argentine fatalities were Hernán Mendoza, Diego Angelini, Alejandro Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferruchi. Martin Marro was injured.
It was the deadliest attack in New York since September 11, 2001, when al Qaeda hijacked two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center.
Saipov said he acted on behalf of the group jihadist Islamic State (IS).
IS is on the list of terrorist organizations that USA make every year.
A death sentence for Saipov would have been a rarity in New York, because the state no longer applies capital punishment and the last execution was in 1963.
Saipov reportedly showed no remorse, and prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments that later, the day after the attack, he said he was proud of what he did and smiled when he spoke to an FBI agent.
The Uzbek got out of his truck screaming “God is great”in Arabic, with pellet guns and paintballs in their hands before being shot by a police officer because he thought they were real firearms.
She also asked to hang his flag in her Manhattan hospital room, prosecutors previously said.
Source: Ambito
