*Marissa Alexander, the women who faced 60 years in prison for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband, has another chance at freedom.
The Jacksonville mother of three was released from a Florida prison on Jan. 27 after she completed two years of court-ordered home confinement and previously served nearly three years in prison on weapons and assault charges. In 2014, Alexander accepted a plea deal to avoid a potential 60 years behind bars, per jetmagazine.com.
“Today, after 3 years behind bars and 2 years of house detention, Marissa Alexander was finally released from state confinement,” a statement from the Free Marissa Now campaign reads. “Marissa Alexander has been punished for over 5 years for defending her life from a domestic violence attack threatening her life nine days after she gave birth. The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign is thrilled that we have finally made it to the day that we can say Marissa Alexander has her freedom.”
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Alexander’s case drew national attention and criticism in 2012 largely due to the George Zimmerman’s case. The racist neighborhood watchman murdered 17-year-old Trayvon Martin after following him as he walked home from the convenience store.
Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. It’s worth noting that Florida’s justice system also found child killer Casey Anthony not guilty of murdering her baby girl…. but Alexander was imprisoned for years for causing no injury or bodily harm to another individual.
Alexander believed she had a legitimate reason to benefit from the state’s Stand Your Ground law. What she didn’t realize at the time was that the law was created to lock up black folks who attempted to take advantage of the law, while at the same time give whites/non-blacks a pass to murder people of color.
Alexander testified that her ex-husband threatened to kill her on Aug. 2010, moments before she fired her legally registered firearm into the ceiling of her home to prevent a domestic violence attack.
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