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Marissa Alexander case

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Marissa Alexander case
DateAugust 1, 2010
LocationJacksonville, Florida,U.S.
ParticipantsMarissa Alexander (accused)
Rico Gray (Alexander's husband)
AccusedMarissa Alexander
ChargesAggravated assaultwith a deadly weapon (three counts)
VerdictGuilty on all counts

In May 2012, 31-year-old Marissa Alexander was prosecuted foraggravated assaultwith adeadly weaponand received amandatory minimumsentence of 20 years in prison. Alexander said that she fired a warning shot after her husband attacked her and threatened to kill her on August 1, 2010, inJacksonville, Florida.

Some time after her conviction, a new trial was ordered. Before the new trial could begin, Alexander was released on January 27, 2015, under a plea deal that capped her sentence to the three years she had already served.

Incident

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Alexander was in the home of her estranged husband Rico Gray, when Alexander claimed that Gray threatened to kill her[1]via texts on Alexander's phone. Gray had previously abused Alexander, giving her reason to believe that her life was in danger.[2][3][4][5]

According to Alexander, she tried to escape through the garage, but the garage door would not open.[3]This account was confirmed by Gray in a sworn deposition,[4]although investigators found no problem with the door. According to all accounts, Alexander then retrieved her gun from her vehicle and went to the kitchen. Alexander fired a "warning shot" towards Gray with his children nearby, which hit the wall near Gray at the height of his head, then deflected into the ceiling.[6]The single shot did not injure anyone.[6]According to one source, Alexander had fired the warning shot because of Florida'sstand-your-ground law,a law that allows self-defense, such as lethal force, in life-threatening situations, but the court later disagreed.

Trials

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Alexander, who had a history of suffering domestic violence from Gray, and had been previously accused of domestic violence herself, and who had recently been released from jail, returned to Gray's house, despite him having a restraining order forbidding her presence at the house, sought self-defense immunity prior to trial but was unsuccessful.[4]State AttorneyAngela Coreymet with the defendant and offered her a three-year plea deal. Asserting that she acted in self-defense within the bounds of the law, Alexander rejected the offer and took her case to trial.[3]A jury convicted her in twelve minutes,[7]and because of theFlorida 10-20-Life mandatory minimum statute,she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.[8]Alexander was also required to stay away from Gray as part of a court order.[7]

On September 26, 2013, an appellate court ordered a new trial, finding that the jury instructions in Alexander's trial impermissibly shifted theburden of prooffrom the prosecution to the defense.[9][10]Alexander was released on bail on November 27, 2013[11]and required to stay underhouse arrest.[12]Corey announced that she intended to re-prosecute Alexander, this time aiming for three consecutive 20 year sentences, amounting to a mandatory 60-year sentence if Alexander is found guilty in a second trial.[13]

Marissa Alexander retained legal and investigative assistance during her second trial that she did not prior to her first trial, including a partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight, private investigator Patrick McKenna, and digital collections and forensics throughCapsicum Group.

On January 27, 2015, Alexander was released from a Jacksonville jail under a plea deal that capped her sentence to the three years she had already served. She pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault for firing a shot in the direction of her husband. She also agreed to serve two years of house arrest, wearing an ankle monitor. She will be allowed to work, attend classes and take her children to school and medical appointments. Her case helped to inspire a new state law permitting warning shots in some circumstances.[14]

Criticism of prosecutor Angela Corey

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Corey was criticized for her handling of the case by Democratic Florida CongresswomanCorrine Brown,who argued that Corey overcharged Alexander and the result of Alexander's case was a consequence ofinstitutional racism.[15]Mariame Kaba,Rev.Jesse Jackson,anti-domestic violence advocates, civil rights groups, and others also supported the call for Alexander's release from prison.[16]Several groups such as theNational Organization for Women(NOW) and the national advocacy groupColor of Changepetitioned to ask for Corey's removal from this case.[17]NOW called for Corey to resign over the case, saying Corey was "misusing her office and endangering domestic violence survivors."[18]Color of Change stated that they would attempt to collect 100,000 signatures to remove Corey from the case.[17]

Corey has defended herself by saying that she believes Alexander fired the weapon out of anger and not fear, and that she endangered the lives of Gray's two children in the process. Corey said, "She discharged a gun to kill them."[19]

Aftermath

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In March 2017, Alexander expressed support for reducing minimum sentencing laws and speaking on behalf of women who suffered domestic abuse. She also spoke in favor of strengthening the Stand Your Ground law with the intent of making it more fair and balanced.[20]

Due to efforts byprison abolitionistssuch asMariame Kabaand others to free Alexander, the organization Survived and Punished was created to free women who are incarcerated for defending themselves and their children fromintimate partner violence.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Florida seeks triple sentence of 60 years for woman who fired warning shot".Tampa Bay Times.March 3, 2014.
  2. ^Stacy, Mitchy (May 16, 2012)."Marissa Alexander Gets 20 Years for Firing Warning Shot".CBS News.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2021.RetrievedMay 8,2014.
  3. ^abcAlexander, Marissa (April 14, 2012)."In The State Of Florida - Marissa Faces 20 Years In Prison".Stand Your Ground Marissa Alexander.Archived fromthe originalon August 13, 2021.RetrievedAugust 24,2014.[unreliable source?]
  4. ^abcPowers, Kirsten (July 19, 2013)."Prosecuted for Standing Her Ground".The Daily Beast.Archivedfrom the original on May 9, 2017.RetrievedAugust 24,2014.
  5. ^Salzillo, Leslie."5 More Women Accuse Marissa Alexander's Abusive Husband Of Brutal Abuse".The Daily Kos.Archivedfrom the original on March 23, 2017.RetrievedMay 29,2015.
  6. ^ab"Angela Corey lashes out at critics of Marissa Alexander prosecution".theGrio.May 15, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on October 29, 2021.RetrievedMarch 11,2016.
  7. ^abHLN Staff."Marissa Alexander: The REAL reason she's behind bars".HLNtv.Archivedfrom the original on December 30, 2018.RetrievedMarch 11,2016.
  8. ^"Marissa Alexander Gets 20 Years For Firing Warning Shot".HuffPost.May 11, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on March 14, 2016.RetrievedJuly 9,2013.
  9. ^Alexander v. State,121 So. 3d 1185(2013).
  10. ^Irin Carmon (September 26, 2013)."Marissa Alexander will get a new trial | MSNBC".Tv.msnbc.Archivedfrom the original on October 15, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 16,2014.
  11. ^Morgan Whitaker (July 23, 2013)."Marissa Alexander released from jail for Thanksgiving".MSNBC.Archivedfrom the original on January 7, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 16,2014.
  12. ^"Florida woman given 20 years for firing warning shot won't return to jail ahead of new trial".Usnews.nbcnews.Archivedfrom the original on July 3, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 16,2014.
  13. ^Hannan, Larry."Marissa Alexander's sentence could triple in 'warning-shot' case".The Florida Times Union.Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2014.RetrievedAugust 24,2014.
  14. ^Susan Cooper Eastman (January 27, 2015)."Florida woman in 'warning shot' case released from jail".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on June 9, 2021.RetrievedMarch 11,2016.
  15. ^"20-year sentence for firing shot sparks outrage".News4Jax. May 12, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on October 12, 2013.RetrievedMarch 21,2014.
  16. ^Treen, Dana."Jesse Jackson visits Marissa Alexander, discusses case with Angela Corey".jacksonville.Archivedfrom the original on January 17, 2021.RetrievedMarch 21,2014.
  17. ^abNelson, Steven."Marissa Alexander supporters urge governor to suspend Angela Corey".Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2021.RetrievedMay 8,2014.
  18. ^NOW calls for Angela Corey to resign over Marissa Alexander case,Florida Times-Union,March 18, 2014, archived fromthe originalon August 8, 2014,retrievedMarch 21,2014
  19. ^Dahl, Julia (May 16, 2012)."Fla. woman Marissa Alexander gets 20 years for" warning shot ": Did she stand her ground?".CBS News.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2021.RetrievedMay 8,2014.
  20. ^Schuppe, Jon (March 23, 2017)."Woman Who Lost Stand Your Ground Case Wants Law Strengthened".NBC News.NBCUniversal.Archivedfrom the original on November 29, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 4,2019.
  21. ^Kaba, Mariame (January 3, 2019)."Black women punished for self-defense must be freed from their cages".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Archivedfrom the original on May 2, 2023.RetrievedJune 2,2023.
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