Marissa Alexander Faces Jail Time Despite 'Stand Your Ground' in Florida
April 19, 2012 11:01 PM EDT
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Marissa Alexander stood her ground against domestic violence, but she still faces jail time. The Trayvon Martin murder has brought Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law to the forefront over the past several months.
The woman did not even hurt anybody during the incident, and yet she still faces three counts of aggravated assault. Marissa Alexander is actually in jail right now, and she faces up to 20 years in prison, which is astonishing especially considering that George Zimmerman was not even arrested until weeks after shooting Trayvon Martin.
In 2010, Alexander fired a warning shot at her ex-husband inside her home to keep him from advancing on her. She had a protective order because he had abused her in the past, and that did not keep him from coming back and threatening harm. He was not hurt, and nobody else was either. It seems unbelievable that she has been jailed over something like this especially since the gun was registered to her, it was her own house, and nobody was injured.
Marissa Alexander's sister Helena Jenkins said, "She did what she had to do to live, and I believe if she didn't do that, my sister wouldn't be sitting in jail today, she would be sitting in a coffin."
Thank goodness she protected herself. She did not shoot this man, and it is unbelievable that she could spend two decades in jail over this. What do you think? Was this an example of "Stand Your Ground?" Also, should this law be reexamined given the recent issues with it?
