NEW YORK (AP) — Deliberations that started Wednesday in the trial of a person charged with killing eight individuals alongside a Manhattan bike path rapidly hit a snag, as jurors despatched the decide a notice asking if he would face new felony costs in the event that they acquit him.
The question solely an hour into the jury’s deliberations was a stunning twist in the trial of Sayfullo Saipov, whose legal professionals admit that he rented a truck and drove onto the Hudson River path on Halloween in 2017, killing eight cyclists and injuring a few dozen different individuals.
The protection argued that jurors ought to acquit Saipov of sure costs, notably racketeering counts, in the event that they discover that he didn’t kill individuals to achieve membership to the Islamic State group, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The notice appeared to point that some jurors imagine the argument pertained to all costs.
Defense legal professionals, although, had aimed the argument on the racketeering costs in specific, hoping to win acquittals on a few of the 28 counts that would outcome in a demise sentence. If Saipov is convicted on any of these, a demise penalty section of the trial would start earlier than the identical jury days later.
Jurors heard about two weeks of proof together with testimony from FBI brokers and quite a few victims of the assault.
Saipov, who moved to the United States in 2010 from Uzbekistan and lived in Ohio and Florida earlier than becoming a member of household in Paterson, New Jersey, has been in a federal jail for the reason that assault.
The assault ended after the truck plowed by two poles and right into a small college bus. Saipov was shot in the decrease torso and injured by a police officer. Prosecutors mentioned it spoiled his plan to proceed to the Brooklyn Bridge and kill as many individuals as doable.
After studying the jury notice aloud, U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick despatched the panel residence for the day. He informed legal professionals they may talk about reply on Thursday morning.
“This is a complication,” the decide mentioned.
The jurors’ notice had three parts. In the primary, they requested if protection legal professionals have been contending that Saipov dedicated the assaults however was merely charged with the fallacious crime.
Then they requested a hypothetical, questioning if Saipov would face the identical costs if he had gone overseas and gotten an identification card from the Islamic State group earlier than killing the cyclists.
Finally they requested, “If we find he did not do it for ISIS membership, and therefore is not guilty, will he be retried with different charges?”