Marissa Alexander is back in court

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MSNBC — Marissa Alexander, the woman who may face 60 years in prison for firing a single “warning shot” that injured no one, was back in court this morning requesting a new Stand Your Ground immunity hearing. Judge James Daniel said he would not issue a ruling today, the Florida Times Union reported.

Alexander was denied immunity from prosecution in her first such hearing. Today, her attorney argued that there is new evidence of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband, Rico Gray, before she fired a shot in the direction of Gray and his two children.

Faith Gay, who was not yet representing Alexander at her first Stand Your Ground hearing, told Judge James Daniel that Gray’s children had been pressured to lie by their father, the paper reported. She also argued that Gray’s history of violence against women had not been raised in the first hearing. Assistant state attorney Rich Mantei deemed the evidence not “new enough to matter,” according to a tweet by Florida Times-Union reporter Larry Hannan.

At the hearing, Judge Daniel repeatedly expressed concern about the precedent a second Stand Your Ground hearing would set.

Alexander was convicted of aggravated assault in 2012 and sentenced to 20 years. Citing improper jury instructions, a judge has granted her a new trial, set for July. State Attorney Angela Corey is now seeking a 60-year sentence, 20 years for each person present when the shot was fired.

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