If you are an African American woman in the state of Florida, you do not have the right to “Stand Your Ground” against an abusive husband. Marissa Alexander unsuccessfully tried to use Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law to derail the prosecution, but a jury in March convicted her of aggravated assault after just 12 minutes of deliberation. The penalty? TWENTY YEARS in prison.
These were WARNING SHOTS that were fired to scare off a wife-beater, but the judge said that he had “no discretion” under state law, and sentenced a Jacksonville, Florida, woman to 20 years in prison Friday…
We rallied in the streets for Trayvon, we circulated articles and images on social media sites when it seemed there was not even an arrest coming for Zimmerman, but what will we do for Marissa Alexander? Are we just going to accept this miscarriage of justice, and allow her to rot in prison for the next two decades?
The case, which was prosecuted by the same state attorney who is handling the Trayvon Martin case, which the prosecution almost seems to be throwing, has gained the attention of civil rights leaders who say the African-American woman was persecuted because of her race.
After the sentencing, Rep. Corrine Brown confronted State Attorney Angela Corey in the hallway, accusing her of being overzealous, according to video from CNN affiliate WJXT.
“There is no justification for 20 years,” Brown told Corey during an exchange frequently interrupted by onlookers. “All the community was asking for was mercy and justice,” she said.
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