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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsmarissa alexander now faces up to SIXTY YEARS in prison
(angela corey, you are a total disgrace)
March-04-14
Marissa Alexander Now Faces Up To 60 Years in Prison
Marissa Alexander, the Florida woman who was imprisoned for firing warning shots against her abusive husband, will face up to 60 years of prison during her re-trial in July.
Alexander was initially sentenced to 20 years for firing warning shots during an altercation with Rico Gray, her estranged and formerly abusive husband. Nobody was injured when Alexander fired the shots into the air, although according to Alexander, Gray was threatening her life at the time. Alexander's initial sentence reflected three 20-year sentences to be served concurrently, but Florida state prosecutor Angela Corey will now seek to sentence Alexander to consecutive sentences totaling 60 years in prison.
"Remember that this entire case boils down to a woman defending her life from her husband who attacked her, strangled her, threatened to kill her, whose beatings have sent her to the hospital and likely caused her to have premature labor," said Sumayya Fire, a Victim Advocate with Free Marissa Now. "Now [Alexander is] facing the very real possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison for that act of self-defense. That should send a chill down the back of every person in this country who believes that women who are attacked have the right to defend themselves."
Corey unsuccessfully prosecuted George Zimmerman for murder charges after he killed Florida teen Trayvon Martin, but her stance on Alexander has angered many advocates and Florida residents. Like Zimmerman, Alexander is being prosecuted under the state's infamous Stand Your Ground law, which allows Floridians to resort to deadly violence when they believe their lives may be in imminent danger, and qualifies such actions as self-defense even if no attempt to retreat was made. Unlike Zimmerman, Alexander has been unable to persuade officials in her case that she was acting in self-defense, despite Gray's own admission that he has previously threatened her life.
A Florida appeals court in September ordered a new trial for Alexander after finding that the trial judge had issued improper jury instructions on self-defense. Alexander, who has three children, was released on bail last year.
http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=14879
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)Mz Pip
(27,453 posts)I what a waste of money.
napkinz
(17,199 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)she would be walking free today. KILL is the message Florida is giving to people.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)Maybe she could convince the jury that the kids were a threat too.
If you leave the victims house, then return with a gun, you're not standing your ground, nor are you acting in self defense.
"Wait here, I got something for your ass" were the words she used prior to retrieving her gun from her cars glove compartment.
I'm frequently amazed what it takes to become a DU hero. A uterus, apparently.
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)it would be the same thing? I say it again, and I live in Florida. You are better off killing somebody than treatening or wounding them. This is what that SYG law is all about.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)She was in his house, had an argument with him, left it to retrieve a weapon then returned to the house to fire it at him.
"I thought I was fixin' to die" - testimony of his 12 year old son.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,437 posts)60 years? Really? A short jail sentence or probation seems to make more sense here given the circumstances. No need to make her a "hero" here but some common sense would be nice in Florida (where there almost seems to be none).
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)But "the worst" seems highly plausible.
Orrex
(63,224 posts)If only...
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)Although perhaps literally true (most bullets travel through air and all shots that miss can arguably be considered warning shots) it is grossly misleading and MS magazine should know it.
She shot at Mr Gray, at eye level, just over the head of the 12 year old son standing alongside him. The bullet entered the wall behind Mr Gray's head and lodged in the ceiling of the room behind.
Oh, and between the two of them, Ms Alexander is the only one actually convicted of physically assaulting the other.
There is no degree of dishonesty that is too much for Ms Alexander's supporters.
Is sixty years too much? Of course, she'll never get that.
Dr. Strange
(25,923 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)napkinz
(17,199 posts)napkinz
(17,199 posts)Crunchy Frog
(26,630 posts)Kill someone in cold blood, it's perfectly legal. Commit an act in self defense in which no one is actually injured, and it's an unforgiveable crime.
It will be a cold day in hell before I set foot in that state.
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)HIDE in your home and stay out of society. Best, and safest, way to survive in the Gunshine State.
Gothmog
(145,558 posts)The defendant is being overcharged
Orrex
(63,224 posts)If her husband had left the scene, retrieved a gun, returned with it and fired warning shots in the direction of Alexander and her children, what sentence would be appropriate?