(Reuters) The U.S. government said it plans to seek the death penalty for the man charged with using a truck to kill eight people on a Manhattan bike path on Halloween in 2017.
In a letter filed late Friday in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors said Attorney General Merrick Garland “decided to continue to seek the death penalty” against Sayfullo Saipov, and that they notified the defendant’s lawyers and victims.
David Patton, a federal public defender representing Saipov, declined to comment.
The decision followed Garland’s July 2021 moratorium on federal executions while the Department of Justice reviews its use of the death penalty. Executions had resumed in 2020 under Garland’s predecessor William Barr, following a 17-year hiatus.
