[NPR] Noor Salman, widow of the gunman who opened fire on an Orlando nightclub in 2016, has been found not guilty on both the counts she faced. U.S. District Judge Paul Byron announced the verdict Friday, roughly one month after the trial opened.
Salman was the only person charged in connection with the massacre that left 50 people ‐ including her husband, Omar Mateen ‐ dead at Pulse nightclub. She stood accused of helping Mateen prepare for and plan the 2016 massacre at the nightclub and of obstructing investigators' efforts after the killing.
Her defense team argued that far from being an eager collaborator, Salman was instead a "simple woman" with a low IQ, susceptible to influence and abused by Mateen. While prosecutors asserted that Noor had given misleading statements to state and federal investigators, the defense maintained that she had been manipulated and mistreated during these interrogations.
Later in the trial, Salman's attorneys also called for Byron to declare a mistrial or dismiss the case outright, saying the prosecution had withheld crucial information for the development of their argument. It was not until after the prosecution had rested its case, nearly two weeks after the trial opened, that prosecutors disclosed the information in an email last Saturday.
Emphasis added.
She confessed to assisting her husband, was found to be lying to Law Enforcement, but is said to be 'simple minded and have a low IQ.' She was obviously following Islamic law as it applies to husbands and wives, therefore you must acquit.
|