Marissa Alexander on Angela Corey: 'She had a job to do'

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Marissa Alexander has had to come to grips with her story’s popularity since being released from a Florida prison and put under house arrest.

The 34-year-old’s recently sat down with The Florida Times-Union to discuss the case that generated a nationwide debate surrounding the controversial Stand Your Ground laws after she fired a shot near her estranged husband in August 2010.

According to Alexander, her abusive husband, Rico Gray, had been beating her, so she ran to the garage to get away. Unfortunately, she left the keys in the house, so she brought a gun to protect herself while she ran back in to get them. She says she fired a warning shot, but because it hit the wall near Gray and not the ceiling, prosecutors said she was shooting at Gray. Gray also claimed that the children were in the room when she shot, though Alexander said they were in the other room.

“I believe that Marissa Alexander’s case resonated so strongly because it was perceived by many people, especially African-Americans, as a true miscarriage of justice,” said Marcella Washington, a professor of politics at Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Alexander initially faced 60 years for shooting at her husband (three counts for 20 years each), despite the fact that no one was hurt and she had no previous criminal record.

During the trial, protesters came out in droves, chanting for Alexander’s release.

“I was in awe at their dedication, their solidarity, their support,” Alexander told The Times-Union. “The fact that they would dedicate their most precious resource, their time, to support me was heart-warming.”

Asked about Prosecutor Angela Corey, who had been strongly criticized for seeking such a long prison sentence, Alexander simply said, “Angela Corey had a job to do, I respect that. I try not to make it personal.”

But even without the looming cloud of fame over her head, Alexander has a long road back to normalcy. Her three children, 14-year-old twins and a 4-year-old daughter, have had to get used to having her back. “It was very difficult for them,” Alexander said of the twins. “I went away at a time when they were not quite teenagers.”

Alexander took a deal that would sentence her to only three years in prison — most of which she had already served by that time. She plead guilty and was branded a felon and put under house arrest, but at least she is home. “It was incredibly difficult to take that plea,” Alexander said. “But I thought about my kids; it was mainly the children that made me decide to do it.”

Alexander is currently living with her first husband, Lincoln Alexander. “We are good friends and I’m the mother to his kids,” Alexander said. “If the situation were reversed, I’d be there for him, too.”

Some day, Alexander plans to use her fame to campaign for reform in the criminal justice system, but for now, she is content to be with her family.  “Everything has a time and a season,” she said. “It’s not the time for me now to become a public figure.”