Death-penalty deliberations for NYC bike-path terrorist Sayfullo Saipov delayed briefly

NEW YORK - There was a delay in death penalty deliberations in the case against Sayfullo Saipov, who is convicted of killing eight people with a truck, with a rented truck along the Hudson River.

This was after a juror told the court that his brother had a heart attack and that he would not be coming back. He was then replaced with an alternate juror and the jury resumed deliberations in the penalty phase of the trial.

They are deciding whether 35-year-old terrorist, Sayfullo Saipov, will get the death penalty or life in prison.

New York state does not have the death penalty.  However, this is a federal case, so the death penalty is an option.

Sayfullo Saipov faced a federal terrorism trial for allegedly killing 8 people on a NYC bike path with a truck.

Saipov was convicted last month in the rampage on Halloween in 2017, when he drove a rental truck at high speed, over the Westside Highway bike path near the Hudson River killing eight people and injuring several others.

His defense team called for a mistrial after the juror was replaced with an alternate, saying that the same jury that convicted last month, should be the same one that decides whether he lives or dies. 

James Kousouros, a criminal defense attorney says alternate jurors are typically equipped and ready to takeover at any time. 

"This is an alternate who has listened to the entire case and alternates are told during the trail that they should pay attention as though they were actual jurors," Kousouros says." The alternates and the alternate that was now put on the jury has the same information that the initial jury that was seated, has."

Jury deliberations ended on Thursday, and will resume on Monday.

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If Saipov does end up getting the death penalty, he will be able to seek an appeal.

The last time that a person was executed for a federal crime in the state of New york was back in the 1950s.