An Islamic extremist has been sentenced to 10 life terms and an additional 260 years in prison for driving a truck on a Manhattan bike lane, killing eight people and seriously injuring 18 others.
Sayfullo Saipov remained ruthless on Wednesday, saying the tears of victims and family members in the courtroom were small compared to the blood and tears suffered by followers of the Islamic faith.
“I have been here in court throughout the three-month trial and have seen and heard the victims, families and friends,” he said through an interpreter before his sentencing. “The court would be filled with the tears and blood of the Muslim population.”
District Judge Vernon S. Broderick cited Saipov’s unrepentance when delivering his verdict in the Oct. 31, 2017 attack in which the ISIS-inspired terrorist used a Home Depot truck to mow down victims on Manhattan’s West Side.
“The behavior in this case is among the worst, if not the worst, that I have seen,” he said.
Sayfullo Saipov is seen in a court sketch on Wednesday May 17, 2023 as he was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing eight people and injuring 18 others
Saipov, flanked by his attorneys David M. Stern (left) and federal defense attorney Andrew John Dalack (right), listened to a translation of the proceedings through headphones
The former New Jersey resident is seen in his police mugshot released November 1, 2017 following his fatal attack on a New York City bike lane
A jury in March rejected the death penalty for the Uzbek citizen and former New Jersey resident.
The relatives of eight people killed in the Halloween terror attack sometimes spoke through tears during the sentencing hearing, describing their ongoing pain and sometimes addressing the man convicted of the murder directly.
Saipov, 35, kept his head down, eyes downcast, and listened to a translation of the proceedings through headphones.
Frank Decadt, father of victim Ann-Laure Decadt, told Saipov he hoped that “one day you will understand the magnitude of the horror you have caused so many people.”
Marion Van Reeth, who lost her legs in the attack, sat in her wheelchair in front of Saipov and told him, “I’ll never be able to walk like you.”
‘I’ve got a question for you. After all this time in prison, are you still convinced that your criminal actions against innocent people were the right thing to do?
Prosecutors asked Broderick to face a sentence of eight consecutive life sentences — one for each count of death — and an additional 260 years in prison, a submission said.
Marion Van Reeth, who lost her legs in the attack, sat in her wheelchair in front of Saipov and told him, “I’ll never be able to walk like you.”
Van Reeth was among the victims and family members who made heartbreaking statements at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing
“Saipov is an unabashed terrorist — a proud killer who deserves no leniency and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” prosecutors wrote.
The judge followed the prosecutor’s recommendation and handed down eight consecutive life sentences and two concurrent sentences, although the practical effect of a single life sentence is the same as there is no parole.
Gabriela Pabla Pereya, wife of Ariel Erlij, who was among five Argentine men killed during a bike ride to mark the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, provided the briefest explanation. She called Saipov a coward and said that if he really wanted God to “accept and love you, go and kill yourself.”
The Home Depot truck that Saipov used to mow down his victims on Manhattan’s West Side on October 31, 2017
Prosecutors said he smiled when he asked FBI agents, who questioned him in a hospital room after the attack, if they could hang an Islamic State group flag on the walls.
Monica Missio, whose son Nicholas Cleves was killed, told Saipov his death “totally ruined my life”.
Saipov’s terrorist attack left a path of destruction that he hoped would help him become a member of the Islamic State (IS), prosecutors said.
Five tourists from Argentina, two Americans and a Belgian were killed and 18 others were seriously injured.
Saipov was shot by a police officer and immediately taken into custody after he got out of his truck and shouted “God is great” in Arabic and waved paintball and pellet guns in the air.
Prosecutors said he smiled when he asked FBI agents, who questioned him in a hospital room after the attack, if they could hang an Islamic State group flag on the walls.
Rachel Pharn, who survived the attack, said she wanted to know what motivated Saipov.
‘Mister. “Saipov, I can forgive you for what you did to me, that you broke my spirit,” Pharn said.
“But when I look around the room, when I think of all the pain you’ve caused, I can’t forgive that. That is between you, them and Allah.’
Rachel Pharn, 26, said she wanted to know what motivated Saipov
Saipov is expected to be held at Supermax prison in Colorado, the most secure US federal prison, where he will spend 22 to 23 hours a day alone in a cell with a concrete bed.
His case was the first federal death penalty trial since Democratic President Joe Biden took office in 2021, in which he vowed during his campaign campaign to abolish the death penalty in federal cases.
Saipov’s family members had called for a life sentence, saying they hoped he would realize what he had done and express remorse.
They said they wanted him to return to being the passive person they remembered him as before he became obsessed with the online propaganda of the militant group Islamic State.
The former long-distance truck driver moved to the United States legally from Uzbekistan in 2010 and lived in Ohio and Florida before joining his family in Paterson, New Jersey.
His attorney, David Patton, told jurors his actions were “senseless and horrific and there was no justification for them.”