New York Man Spends 5 Months in Jail Because No One Told Him His Bail Was Only $2

NEW YORK — A 41-year-old Queens man spent almost five months locked up on Rikers Island after a shocking clerical error left him unaware that his bail had been reduced to just $2.

According to court records, Aitabdel Salem was arrested in November 2014 for allegedly stealing a winter coat and assaulting a police officer. At the time, his bail was set at $25,000, keeping him behind bars while awaiting trial.

The Mix-Up That Cost Months of Freedom

When prosecutors later dropped the assault charge, Salem was left facing only two minor misdemeanors — tampering and mischief — each carrying a $1 bail. That meant he could have walked free for less than the cost of a cup of coffee.

But no one told him.

Unaware of the bail reduction, Salem believed he still needed to come up with $25,000. With no updates from his attorney or the court, he remained incarcerated at Rikers Island until April 2015, nearly five months later.

“It’s almost unthinkable,” one public defender familiar with the case said. “The system is so backlogged and impersonal that something this small can completely derail a person’s life.”

A Second Arrest and Renewed Bail

In a cruel twist, just weeks after his release, Salem was arrested again — this time for missing a court date related to his earlier case. Court records later showed that the court’s notice had been mailed to the wrong address, meaning Salem never received it.

Despite that mistake, his bail was reset to $30,000, sending him back through the same broken system that had already failed him once.

A Case That Highlights Systemic Flaws

Salem’s case has drawn widespread criticism as an example of the communication breakdowns and procedural neglect that plague America’s bail system.

Legal experts say cases like his reveal how low-income defendants — often unable to afford private attorneys or constant case monitoring — are disproportionately affected by bureaucratic errors.

“This wasn’t about danger to society or risk of flight,” said one former city prosecutor. “It was about paperwork. And it shows how a $2 oversight can rob someone of months of their life.”

Push for Reform

In recent years, New York has moved toward bail reform laws aimed at preventing nonviolent offenders from being held pretrial due to financial hardship. Advocates say cases like Salem’s underscore why such reforms were urgently needed.

Had those rules been in place in 2014, Salem might never have spent time in jail for a misunderstanding that cost him nearly half a year of freedom.

A Lesson in Oversight and Accountability

Salem’s ordeal has become a talking point for reform advocates calling for better notification systems, legal accountability, and increased transparency between courts, defendants, and public defenders.

As one advocate summarized, “When freedom depends on communication, the price of silence should never be months behind bars.”

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