Judge denies bail for the widow in the pulse nightclub shooting

The Orlando shooter’s widow, Noor Salman was denied bail pending her upcoming trial. Often, in a serious case involving death, a defendant will be held without bail as the Court concludes no amount of money will ensure the person’s appearance in court.  Since bail is not meant to punish someone prior to trial, given the presumption of innocence, in a high profile case it put a judge in a difficult position as to whether to set a bail.

Her attorneys are planning to argue that Salman is not a public safety threat, and is not at a risk of fleeing before her trial date approaches. In this case, family members have offered their homes as collateral in desperate hopes to get Salman out on bail.

Oman Mateen was the gunman and husband to Salman who walked into a Florida nightclub and shot and killed 49 people, wounding an additional 53 individuals. The upcoming trial is in regards to Salman’s alleged claim that she supported her husband’s terroristic plans; Salman was originally arrested back in November after authorities suspected that she helped her husband plan the attack on Pulse Nightclub. While the prosecution has not released a bulk of the evidence they have collected on Salman, an attorney on her case, Haitham Amin, noted that it appears as if Salman is going to be charged with being present when her husband was planning the attacks.

 ~ Facts about the shooting ~

• Oman Mateen called 911 during the incident, where he pledged allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS and also mentioned the Boston Marathon Bombings of 2013.
• His wife later said that she believes her husband may have suffered from a mental illness.
• Orlando police shot and ultimately killed Mateen when they crashed into the building with an armored vehicle and stun grenades.

You can read the full story of the Pulse Nightclub Attacks on CNN.com.

It is suspected that Salman and Mateen, together, took a trip in Mateens vehicle to the nightclub in the days leading up to the deadly event. Her lead attorney, Charles Swift, has argued that the evidence, while it may show they were in fact in the area of Pulse Nightclub, they were not intentionally there; they were simply on their way home from babysitting for a relative when they passed the nightclub. Salman did not possess a drivers license at the time and ultimately had no control over the route in which her husband took to get home that day.

“Noor… was at most, a reluctant passenger who wanted to go home”

– Attorney Charles Swift

Other media accounts have identified Salman as having been with her husband when he purchased the ammunition that was used in the nightclub attack at Walmart. Her defense attorneys are additionally planning to argue that while she may have been present during the purchase of such ammunition, mere presence in simply not enough to charge someone with a crime. Salman has made it clear that her husband, at the time, told her he was purchasing the ammunition for his job where he worked as a security guard. Attorney Swift has made it clear that Salman’s presence with her husband for the purchase does not signify that she was aiding and abetting in this crime. Wildabouttrial.com has an informative article which goes into more detail about the arguments that will be heard in court.

If you have any questions about bail or criminal law, reach out to Attorney DelSignore today at (781) 686-5924 to have your questions answered.