Barbara Sheehan's Lawyer Still Awaiting Clarification On Bail
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It is still unclear when Barbara Sheehan, who is awaiting sentencing at Riker's Island on a gun charge after being cleared of murdering her husband, may walk out of jail.
According to a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Correction, they have not received any notification regarding bail for Sheehan.
WEB EXTRA: The Sheehan Decision And Order
Sheehan's attorney, Michael Dowd, said that he is still awaiting clafication from an appellate court regarding his client's bail issue. He thinks that it is unlikely she will be out of prison on Thursday.
If and when she makes bail , she will remain free until next month.
Dowd said Wednesday he was unsure if Sheehan can use the $1 million bail she already put up for the murder charge or if she must come up with another million.
"The worst case scenario -- that I don't think would come into play at this point -- would be that she wouldn't be able to post bail and she would remain in jail for a year or more while the appeal is pending," Dowd told 1010 WINS, adding that he believed the question was "just a matter of clarification."
Dowd says the family and children simply don't have the money to pay for the premium they would have to pay to post an additional $1 million bail.
"We're going to seek clarification from the court on that because if we were to have to post a wholly new bond, it would cost the children and their children an additional $60,000 in cash," Dowd said.
Last week, a jury acquitted the school secretary of murder for fatally shooting her husband Raymond Sheehan after a heated argument in their Howard Beach home in 2008.
Sheehan said her husband had been abusive and threatened to kill her. She testified that she acted in self-defense when she used a revolver and Glock to shoot him 11 times.
For her son, Ray Sheehan, his mother's impending release after a week behind bars can't come soon enough.
"I'm scared for what she has to go through. And I'm worried about her, that she's in there right now," Ray Sheehan told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez.
"My father was a monster. I believe he would have killed her and he probably would have killed us," he said.
His brother Vincent believes the verdict was wrong.
"I believe the original verdict was not supported by the evidence, and I believe she got away with murder," Vincent said, adding the weapons possession conviction serves as some measure of justice.
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