Marissa Alexander, a Florida mother of three, faces 20 years in prison for shooting at her abusive husband. Alexander’s family says she was shooting a warning shot and hoped to argue a defense based on the controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, which has gained national attention thanks to the Trayvon Martin case. Alexander is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. The Huffington Post has the story:
Marissa Alexander, the Florida mother of three facing 20 years in prison for firing what her family said was a warning shot at her abusive husband, is anything but a victim, said the state prosecutor who oversaw the case.
“She was angry” when she fired the shot, State Attorney Angela B. Corey told HuffPost. “She was not in fear.”
Alexander, 31, scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, was convicted by the same state attorney’s office prosecuting the killing of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teenager shot to death in February by a neighborhood watch volunteer. Both cases have stirred controversy surrounding Florida’s Stand Your Ground gun law, which allows citizens wide discretion in using deadly force to defend themselves. Alexander invoked the law in her unsuccessful defense to aggravated assault charges filed against her in August 2010. Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman is using it against the second-degree murder charge he faces in Martin’s death.
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