Barbara Sheehan was found not guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting her husband, but she was convicted of criminal possession of a weapon. She told reporters, "I’m going to spend [the weekend] with my children here in the house. We’re going to stay home and relax for a few days"—because on Wednesday, she plans on surrendering to authorities for sentencing.
Sheehan claimed that she killed Raymond Sheehan, a retired cop, out of self-defense, citing 17 years of abuse and escalating violence (that involved him pointing guns to her head), and used two different guns a total of 11 times in her Howard Beach home in 2008. Her lawyers are looking to appeal the criminal gun possession conviction, with lawyer Niall MacGiollabhul saying, "It would be a great travesty if Barbara has to serve time. Unfortunately it's a very real possibility."
Jury forewoman Barbara Fleisher insisted to the Post that the jury didn't convict Sheehan of the lesser charge to make up for acquitting her of second-degree murder, “There definitely wasn’t a trade-off. There was no connection. They were all separate charges, standing free of each other." When WPIX asked Sheehan's other lawyer MIchael Dowd if he'd be shocked should Sheehan serve 24 hours in prison, "I've learned not be shocked, when bad things happen to battered women. I'll be sad and upset about it, but I've learned not to be shocked." He also said it had been an exhausting case, "I'm tired, and the pressure and stress of going through this with the responsibility of someone's life in your hands, takes an enormous toll."
