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Evil wannabe terrorists won't let eight consecutive life sentences put them off committing heinous acts of devastation, a legal expert has claimed.
Sick terrorist Sayfullo Saipov, 34, was last week given an enormous sentence for mowing down eight people to death and seriously injuring 11 more in New York City.
On October 31, 2017, Saipov harrowingly ploughed through cyclists and pedestrians in Manhattan.
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An American federal judge has since given the terrorist eight consecutive life sentences, two concurrent life sentences and an additional consecutive sentence of 260 years after he was found guilty on 28 different counts.
The jury very nearly decided to sentence Saipov to death, but were unable to give a unanimous verdict on this.
Despite Saipov spending the rest of his life behind bars, Elizabeth Samson, a legal Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, says that this isn't enough to put future terrorists off mass violence.
The legal expert told the Daily Star that terrorists who attack the public wouldn’t make the same calculations on the consequences of committing crimes that other criminals do.
“Many terrorists who are ideologically motivated, are not necessarily deterred by long prison sentences and fear of punishment. They understand the risks involved, including the possibility of their own deaths in a suicide attack,” she said.
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“Terrorists who engage in attacks on the public understand that they may risk capture and are not necessarily guaranteed martyrdom either by suicide or by receiving the death penalty.”
“Saipov knew his terror attack in October 2017 would result either in his death or his capture. There was no indication in this trial that Saipov believed he would escape consequences.”
Samson told the Star that instead, the long sentences given to terrorists who commit heinous acts are reflective of the severity of the crime.
“The long sentences imposed are a reflection of the seriousness of the threat the court deems the individual to pose.
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“Heavy sentencing in terrorism cases sends the message to terrorists that they are fully subject to the democratic rule of law, and that those who scorn democracy and threaten the lives and freedoms of others will have the full body of the US judiciary imposed upon them,” she added.
As a convict with eight life sentences to serve, the sadistic terrorist will have to deeply suffer for the rest of his life with no chance of parole, meaning he will likely die behind bars.
“Saipov will spend the rest of his life in a maximum-security federal facility, where inmates spend 22 to 23 hours a day in their cells,” Samson said.
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