In New York, Aitabdel Salem, a 41-year-old from Queens, spent nearly five months on Rikers Island — from November 2014 to April 2015 — due to a bizarre bail mix-up! He was initially arrested for allegedly stealing a coat and assaulting an NYPD officer, with bail set at $25,000.
When prosecutors failed to indict him on the assault charge, the judge dismissed it. That left only two minor, unrelated charges: tampering and criminal mischief. Each carried a $1 bail — meaning Salem could have gone free for just $2, about the price of a slice of pizza in the city.
Despite this dramatic reduction, Salem says no one — not even his lawyer — informed him of the new, minimal bail amount. Believing he still faced the original $25,000 bail, he remained in jail, unaware he could have walked free.
He was finally released in April 2015. But just weeks later, he was arrested again for missing a court date related to the original assault charge — the same one that had been dismissed. His attorneys argue he never received the court notice, which had been returned to the sender. This time, bail was set at $30,000.
Salem’s ordeal exposes a critical failure in the criminal justice system’s communication: a man ended up spending months in one of America’s most notorious jails over what amounted to the cost of a sandwich.
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#storytelling #history #funny #trending #news #sad #photography
In New York, Aitabdel Salem, a 41-year-old from Queens, spent nearly five months on Rikers Island — from November 2014 to April 2015 — due to a bizarre bail mix-up! He was initially arrested for allegedly stealing a coat and assaulting an NYPD officer, with bail set at $25,000.
When prosecutors failed to indict him on the assault charge, the judge dismissed it. That left only two minor, unrelated charges: tampering and criminal mischief. Each carried a $1 bail — meaning Salem could have gone free for just $2, about the price of a slice of pizza in the city.
Despite this dramatic reduction, Salem says no one — not even his lawyer — informed him of the new, minimal bail amount. Believing he still faced the original $25,000 bail, he remained in jail, unaware he could have walked free.
He was finally released in April 2015. But just weeks later, he was arrested again for missing a court date related to the original assault charge — the same one that had been dismissed. His attorneys argue he never received the court notice, which had been returned to the sender. This time, bail was set at $30,000.
Salem’s ordeal exposes a critical failure in the criminal justice system’s communication: a man ended up spending months in one of America’s most notorious jails over what amounted to the cost of a sandwich.
-
#storytelling #history #funny #trending #news #sad #photography