Marissa Alexander released on bond until Florida retrial of self-defence case

[babylonsister]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/28/marissa-alexander-released-florida-stand-your-ground


Marissa Alexander released on bond until Florida retrial of self-defence case
Trial to reconsider stand-your-ground defence for woman sentenced for 20 years for firing 'warning shot' at husband

Reuters
theguardian.com, Thursday 28 November 2013 14.29 EST


Marissa Alexander's case has highlighted Florida's controversial stand-your-ground law. Photograph: CNN


A Florida woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after firing a "warning shot" during an argument with her abusive husband has been released on bond, while she awaits retrial under a controversial part of the state's self-defense law.

The case of Marissa Alexander, who was convicted of aggravated-assault with a deadly weapon, touched off a furor when her supporters compared it to the self-defense case of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted earlier this year of murdering an unarmed black teenager. Although no one was injured in Alexander's case, the court gave her a 20-year prison sentence under the state's mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines because she had fired a gun during the assault.

snip//

The case drew criticism from civil rights groups concerned about self-defense laws and mandatory minimum sentencing rules, but it received little attention outside north Florida until the Zimmerman case. Zimmerman was arrested for killing Trayvon Martin in 2012 and was acquitted of murder and manslaughter in July 2013. Under the so-called "stand your ground" clause which was added to Florida's self-defense law in 2005, people who use deadly force to defend themselves from serious injury – rather than retreating to avoid confrontation – can be immune from prosecution. Zimmerman never sought immunity under "stand your ground", instead relying on a standard self-defense law.

Alexander's "stand your ground" claim was rejected because she left the house during the confrontation to retrieve a gun from her car, returning to fire a shot near her husband Rico Gray's head.

A slightly built woman who stands 5ft 2in, Alexander said her 245lb husband was about to attack her when she fired into a kitchen wall during the August 2010 incident. He had previously been convicted of domestic violence for attacking her. Prosecutors said the shot endangered Gray. At the time, Alexander had an active restraining order against her husband and she carried a concealed weapons permit.

[Gothmog]

1. This is great news

I am glad that she is out on bail. Her conviction was a travesty

[BlueCaliDem]

2. This is fantastic news! Now hoping that the case is thrown out

altogether so she can get her children back and can continue on with her life.

[c588415]

3. Great news!

[Igel]

4. I'll be interested in seeing how this plays out.

Of course, omitted from the article are some details.

Alexander's "stand your ground" claim was rejected because she left the house during the confrontation to retrieve a gun from her car, returning to fire a shot near her husband Rico Gray's head

should read

Alexander's "stand your ground" claim was rejected because she left her husband's house during the confrontation to retrieve a gun from her car, returning to fire a shot near her husband Rico Gray's head.

Small difference, that. She was reclaiming ground for herself that was his to stand.

She was the intruder. Alexander had an active restraining order against her husband and yet found herself in his kitchen.

And nobody cares about the CWP. The weapon wasn't concealed.

Play it as a domestic squabble and it goes away. Try to say that she had a right to be where she had no right to be, and to defend his turf from him? That'll be difficult. Unless the jury decides it doesn't care about details like those.