Islamic fanatic who mowed down NYC cyclists could be sentenced to death

On Monday, a jury in Manhattan will begin considering whether the Islamic extremist who ran over eight people on a bike path along the Hudson River in 2017 should be executed for his crimes.

Last month, the same jury convicted a zealot, 35-year-old Saifullo Saipov of Uzbekistan, for deliberately hitting cyclists with a pickup truck rented from Home Depot before crashing into a school bus near the World Trade Center.

If the jury finds in favor of the death penalty, it could be the first execution in New York since 1963. Although the state no longer has the death penalty, Saipov has been found guilty of federal crimes and is therefore eligible for sentencing.

The last time someone was executed for a federal crime was in Empire State in 1954.

The jury must vote unanimously, otherwise Saipov will go to jail for life.

Saipov was convicted on January 26 on more than two dozen charges, including murder to assist in extortion and support of a foreign terrorist organization.

His rampage killed a Belgian tourist, five Argentine friends and two Americans on October 31, 2017. Others also sustained permanent injuries, including a woman who lost her legs.

Saipov jumped out of a truck with shotguns and paintball guns, shouting “God is great” in Arabic. The cop shot him because he thought it was a real firearm.