Barbara Sheehan Released From Rikers Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- After 12 days in Rikers Island, Barbara Sheehan is now free on bail.
The Howard Beach woman was sent to jail after she was found guilty on one charge of criminal possession of a weapon.
She was acquitted of murder after the jury of nine women and three men accepted Sheehan's defense that she feared for her life and acted in self-defense when she shot her husband 11 times with his two guns — a revolver and a Glock — in February 2008.
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The jury convicted Sheehan only of picking up and using the Glock; apparently agreeing with Sheehan's claim she fired the first gun in self-defense.
On Monday, Sheehan, 50, commented for the first time on the jury's split verdict.
"I thank God every day that they believed in me and they believed my story and they believed my children because the story was the truth and they believe the truth," Sheehan said. "The last charge, I'm not sure about that, but they had their reasons and that's okay."
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Sheehan is now appealing her gun conviction but her immediate plans are simpler.
"I cannot wait to take a bath and eat a decent meal," she said.
Sheehan will remain free until her sentencing Nov. 10, and even that could be extended pending an appeal. That process could take a year.
"This is a big thing to be free and to be with her family," attorney Michael Dowd told CBS 2's Emily Smith.
Her previous bond of $1 million was reinstated. Sheehan said she'll also be spending a lot of time at her home here in Howard Beach, but she isn't out of the woods yet. She could still spend three and a half to 15 years in prison on the weapons possession conviction.
During the trial, Sheehan testified that her husband would call her "stupid, fat and a terrible mother" and would choke her, knock her down, step on her and spit in her face. Sheehan nearly collapsed on the stand after the prosecutor confronted her with one of the guns used in the murder and asked her to demonstrate how she shot her husband.
Sheehan's grown children gave a grim picture of what life was like at their home.
Jennifer Joyce, 25, testified that incidents of violence happened every day at their house. Raymond Sheehan, 21, testified he'd considered suicide while living at home and decided to go to school in Connecticut because he needed to leave the tense environment.
