The father of the man who killed eight people by driving a truck onto a crowded New York City bike lane in 2017 told a jury there was “nothing that can justify” his son’s crime, even as defense lawyers sought to avoid the death penalty for their client.
(Bloomberg) — The father of the man who killed eight people by driving a truck onto a crowded New York City bike lane in 2017 told a jury there was “nothing that can justify” his son’s crime, even as defense lawyers sought to avoid the death penalty for their client.
“My soul was destroyed,” Habibulloh Saipov, a native of Uzbekistan, said through a translator in a Manhattan federal court room Thursday. He was testifying for the defense in the punishment phase of the case against his son, Sayfullo, 35, who was convicted of murder last month for the ISIS-inspired attack. “He ruined their lives,” the elder Saipov said of the victims.
Jurors already have heard testimony for more than a week from surviving victims and the relatives of those killed as prosecutors argued that Saipov should be executed. Defense lawyers are now putting on their own witnesses in a bid to avoid the death penalty, arguing Saipov was manipulated by ISIS propaganda and that he’d pose no threat if he’s sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Habibulloh Saipov told jurors his son had been a joyful child who liked to joke around, and that the boy had taken on the role of caring for his three younger sisters when Habibulloh Saipov traveled to the US to seek work — a trip that later inspired his son to move to the US.
Sayfullo Saipov found work as a truck driver, which his father said was difficult because he drove for long hours with no partner.
‘With All My Heart’
Despite the attack, Habibulloh Saipov said he still loves his son “with all my heart.”
Sayfullo Saipov’s uncle, Hamieulloh Saipov, who traveled to the US with Habibulloh Saipov, described his nephew as “a very nice young man” when he was younger. He’d done “very well” in the US at first, but his uncle said things seemed to change after Sayfullo Saipov grew a very long beard.
“I told him to do good,” Hamieulloh Saipov said. But “he killed innocent people and he broke our hearts.”
On Wednesday, defense attorneys called on Chris Synsvoll, an attorney for the Bureau of Prisons, to testify about the safety features that would protect other inmates from Saipov if he was granted life without release in Colorado’s maximum security prison, ADX Florence.
The defense is also expected to call a foreign intelligence expert on ISIS propaganda to discuss why Saipov was the “perfect” target.
The case is USA v. Saipov, 17-cr-00722, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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