Crime
Marissa Alexander Released from Jail
Marissa Alexander, who was sentenced in 2012 to 20 years in prison for firing warning shots at her abusive husband, was released from jail last week but will remain on house arrest awaiting a new trial.
She went home on Wednesday last week, released on a $200,000 bond in time to spend the holiday with her three children.
Alexander was convicted in 2010 of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting into a wall near her estranged husband, Rico Gray, and two young children at their home in Jacksonville, Florida.
Gray testified that he saw Alexander point the gun at him and looked away before she fired the shot. He also claimed that she was the aggressor and that he had begged her to put the weapon down.
The judge and jury disagreed that Alexander was protected under Florida’s Stand You Ground Law, which allows people wide discretion in using deadly force to defend themselves.
The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that Alexander deserved a new trial because the trial judge did not properly instruct the jury regarding what is needed to prove self-defense.
The appeals court also ruled that she would not be able invoke the “stand your ground” law.
Alexander has maintained that she was not trying to hurt anyone and was trying to keep from being attacked by her abusive husband.
Alexander did not have a criminal record before the shooting, but was still convicted of felony assault with a gun.
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