Marissa Alexander, Woman Sentenced To 20 Years For Firing Warning Shot, Gets New Trial

[lumberjack_jeff]

89. He's not on trial. She is.

Are you saying that;
parking the car in the garage of the person against whom she has a protective order
spending the night in his house
sharing breakfast with him and his children the following morning when he and his children arrive home
Then, when an argument ensues, go to the car, retrieve a gun, come back into the house and kill him
... is appropriate, understandable and excusable behavior?

I don't know why I'm asking really, because you just said that it is. I guess this is one of those questions that seem reasonable to say "are you sure you mean what you're saying?"

Should a person who would do this have guns... or for that matter children?

Crazy making actions are still actions for which people are responsible.

The court is retrying the case because the defense only needs to show a reasonable doubt that her shooting was in self defense. The facts of the case are not in dispute. She left the scene of the argument, went to the garage, to her car (which she parked the previous night and presumably knew how to work the garage door at that point) retrieved a gun and returned to the living room, shooting at him (not at the ceiling).

I find it implausible that the next verdict (but perhaps not the sentence) won't be the same as the previous one.