LAWYERS: FEDS SEEK ‘EYE FOR EYE’ FROM KILLER IN NEW YORK

Lawyers for a man convicted of killing eight people along a Manhattan bike path say prosecutors are seeking “eye for an eye” justice by using tearful testimony from victims and their families to convince a jury to order death.

They asked the judge presiding over the death penalty phase of Sayfullo Saipov’s trial to declare a mistrial over the issue.

“The government’s victim-impact evidence has been laden with emotional testimony, improper references to and characterizations of Mr. Saipov and his crime, and appeals to jurors’ emotions and sympathy for the victims and their plight,” the lawyers wrote.

The request came late last week as the lawyers prepared to begin presenting evidence to support their arguments against the death penalty as early as today, when the trial resumes and federal prosecutors complete their presentation. If any juror votes against death, Saipov will serve a life prison sentence.

Saipov, 35, was convicted last month of killing eight people and seriously injuring about 18 others Oct. 31, 2017, when he raced his rented truck onto a bike path in lower Manhattan along the West Side Highway. Arrested at the scene, he said he was supporting the Islamic State group.

The same jurors who heard numerous victims and family members of the dead tearfully testify before convicting Saipov have watched many others describe during the last week how their lives have been permanently altered by the terror attack. Some witnesses have testified twice.

Testimony did not occur Friday, when defense lawyers made their mistrial request, describing emotional testimony a day earlier as “the most forceful and evocative so far.”

They also made the unusual request of asking the judge to order that audio recordings of the court proceedings used solely by court stenographers to ensure transcripts are accurate and be preserved, presumably so an appeals court panel can hear the extent of the emotional testimony.

In their filing, defense lawyers cited some of Thursday’s testimony, including by Belgian witness Alexander Naessens, whose wife, Ann-Laure Decadt, was killed.

He said his children “will never have their mother, never have the most important person in their life, never.”

“And as for me, you know, my life is ruined,” Naessens said.