OpposingViews - Sunday, July 14, 2013

Florida Mom Marissa Alexander To Serve 20 Years for Firing Warning Shot, While George Zimmerman Goes Free

By Sarah Rae Fruchtnicht



A Florida woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot at her allegedly abusive husband. Claiming self-defense, just as George Zimmerman did in the Trayvon Martin shooting trial, a jury convicted Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Alexander, 31, said she feared for her life when she fired a bullet into the wall of her home in August 2010. The Jacksonville mother of three had a protective order against her husband.

No one was hurt in the shooting, but a jury found her guilty on May 11, and she was given the mandatory minimum sentence under the gun law: 20 years.

Alexander had never been in trouble with the law before, but Circuit Court Judge James Daniel said he wouldn’t allow for any circumstances to reduce the sentence below the 20-year minimum.

On Saturday, an all-female jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the Sanford, Fla., shooting death of an unarmed 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin. There was no dispute as to whether Zimmerman shot and killed Martin. Instead, the jury considered whether Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was justified in his use of deadly force, which by Florida state law means force "necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm."

Zimmerman waived his right to a “Stand Your Ground” pretrial immunity hearing, CNN reported, and attorneys went forward with the trial as a self-defense case. When Alexander’s attorney made an appeal to reconsider her case under the “Stand Your Ground” law, the judge denied to grant her a new trial.

State Attorney Angela Corey, who oversaw the prosecution of George Zimmerman, stood by the Alexander sentencing, according to Press TV. Corey believes that Alexander aimed the gun at her husband. She argues that the bullet fired could have ricocheted and hit him or others in the room.

Zimmerman was outdoors in a densely populated neighborhood when he shot Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman also had previous run-ins with the law. He was arrested in 2005 and charged with "resisting officer with violence" and "battery of law enforcement officer."

A recording of his 911 call shows Zimmerman said he was following Martin and ignored a dispatcher who told him not to approach the teenager. Zimmerman had no order of protection against Martin. Martin was unarmed.

Is it fair for Alexander to spend two decades in jail for a crime that had no fatalities, while Zimmerman walks? Does race and sex influence a jury's decision?

Is it fair for Alexander to spend two decades in jail for a crime that had no fatalities, while Zimmerman walks?

NO

She should get a week and some community service.

GZ should get at least 10 years. He took a life.

a) She's black.
b) She left a witness alive.

.....and now for the rest of the story:

Marissa Alexander case

In May 2012, Corey prosecuted 31-year-old Marissa Alexander and obtained a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. Alexander had a restraining order issued against her ex husband at the time and, during the day of the incident, had returned to their old home to collect clothes and some possessions thinking he was not there. Her ex husband was there, with their children, and they began to argue. After the argument became heated, Marissa Alexander returned to her car, picked up her firearm, and returned inside the house where she threatened him with the handgun before firing a warning shot into the wall. She was charged with reckless endangerment of children and threatening with a deadly weapon. Despite being offered a 3 year sentence and later a probational sentence with time served, Alexander chose to attempt a SYG defence at trial[30]. She was found guilty and according to Floridas gun laws (where 10 years can be added for committing a crime while carrying a firearm, with an added 10 years for discharging a firearm during a crime) was sentenced to 20 years.[31]

PressTV is the Iranian English language propaganda organization. It's adherence to accuracy is about the same as American Thinker's. Incidentally, after the shooting and before her trial, Alexander was again charged with assaulting her ex-husband. She pleaded guilty.

That still doesn't explain how a woman get 20 years for firing a gun at her husband (for which there was issued a protective order) but not even hitting anyone while a man who shot and killed another goes free.

It's because she used the gun in the commission of a crime. Under Florida law, carrying a gun during the commission of a crime gets an automatic 10 year sentence. Firing the gun gets an automatic 20 years. Because she was in his home and went outside to get the gun in order to fire it, the judge felt that she had committed a crime. Since she had fired it, she got the automatic 20 years. Even the judge felt that was too much but he had no choice under the law.

There's another case of a white father who fired a warning shot into his floor to scare a kid who was sexually harassing his daughter. He too got twenty years.

Rather than being a race issue, this is what happens when you take away the ability of judges to tailor sentences to fit the crime.

What crime? Why is going to one's car to retrieve a gun a crime? Would it be any different if she had the gun on her?

The crime was firing the gun while her kids were there.

GZ fired his gun into Trayvon Martin after harassing him and that wasn't a crime. He was scared because Trayvon was defending himself. The crux of his self defense plea.

Florida law is just terrible.

From what I gather, she left the home. He allowed her to leave. She came back in with the gun. One would think battered women syndrome or something could have been brought up.

She was in violation of the restraining order--should have had the police go with her...

In going to the car to retrieve the gun, she should have had time to cool off and not take the weapon back to the apartment...

What kind of mother fires a gun in the presence of her children? Child endangerment for sure...

but I hate mandatory minimum laws.....

Because (as Oskar says) a) she's black
b) she left a witness alive
and then thirdly, c) she didn't have CZs defense team but most likely a pubic defender.....

Jim William: Nice work! But a link to your source please?

(I presume it was Wikipedia - Angela Corey?)