commentary by Patrick H. Moore
The outlines of the Marissa Alexander story are well-known by now. In 2010, she fired a warning shot into the wall near her abusive husband, Rico Gray, and his two young children from a previous relationship who were in the house. Alexander maintains that her husband, who had punched and choked her on several previous occasions, was initiating yet another attack on her person, and that she fired the warning shot to scare him away. Alexander says that she believed she was protected that day under the state’s Stand Your Ground Law, which gives people wide discretion in using deadly force to defend themselves.
Alexander was offered a three-year plea deal which she turned down believing herself innocent under Florida law. At her trial in Tallahassee, Alexander was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the courtroom of Circuit Judge James Daniel, one count for firing near her husband and two additional counts because the children were present. Judge Daniel sentenced her to 20 years in prison under Florida’s 10-20-life laws, running each of the three counts concurrently.
A protest campaign protesting Alexander’s innocence called Free Marissa Now was created before Alexander’s trial and has continued ever since. Naturally, when George Zimmerman was found not guilty after killing Trayvon Martin under highly questionable circumstances, Ms. Alexander’s supporters and much of the general public exploded with outrage, not only over Zimmerman’s acquittal, but over the disparity between the cases of Zimmerman and Alexander. Marissa Alexander, who fired one warning shot and hurt no one, was ripped away away from her children and thrown into prison for two decades. Despite shooting and killing a teenager, Zimmerman walked out of the courtroom a free man.
In September of last year, the First District Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Marissa Alexander. The appellate court rejected her claims that she was immune from prosecution under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, but it ordered a new trial because it found errors in the jury instructions on self-defense.
The appeals court ruling explains that the way the jury instructions were written, they shifted the burden from the state to prove Alexander committed a crime to Alexander to prove she had not and acted in self-defense.
“The burden never shifts to the defendant,” the court cited in its ruling.
In concurring with the opinion, one of the judges pointed out, “It was the prerogative of the jury to determine which version of events to believe and by its verdict it appears that the jury rejected (Alexander’s) version of events.”
In a recent rather stunning development, Florida State Attorney Angela Corey, whose tough pro-death penalty stance is legendary, has stated that she aims to increase the prison sentence for Marissa Alexander from 20 to 60 years in the upcoming July 28 trial. In other words, she intends that the 20-year-mandatory minimum sentence under the 10-20-life law be run consecutively for each of the three counts of conviction.
The North Dallas Gazette staff writes:
Thus, as a consequence of winning the appeal to hopefully secure a more fair trial, Alexander, who was released on bond to home detention and has three children, now faces the alarming prospect that the original devastating sentence could be tripled if she is convicted at the new trial.
Free Marissa Now member and victim’s advocate, Sumayya Fire, stated in response to Corey’s sanguine remarks, “Remember that this entire case boils down to a woman defending her life from her husband who attacked her, strangled her, threatened to kill her, whose beatings have sent her to the hospital and likely caused her to have premature labor. A husband who confirmed in a deposition that he beat her, that he was in a rage when he attacked her, and that he has beaten other women with whom he was involved. Remember that when Marissa Alexander fired her warning shot to save her own life, she caused no injuries. Now she’s facing the very real possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison for that act of self-defense. That should send a chill down the back of every person in this country who believes that women who are attacked have the right to defend themselves. Anyone who believes that domestic violence is unjust should be deeply shaken by Corey’s abusive prosecution of Marissa Alexander and should be advocating for Alexander’s freedom.”
Sumayya Fire and other members of the Free Marissa Now believe that Angela Corey has launched this campaign of escalating punishment of Marissa Alexander to shield herself from charges of mishandling trials and failing to secure guilty verdicts for the murders of black teens, Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin. Furthermore, Corey’s office is on the receiving end of various lawsuits claiming it has engaged in misconduct by maliciously over-charging defendants in order to bully them into plea bargains. “Corey is on the defense and appears to be substituting vindictiveness for justice,” said Free Marissa Now member, Helen Gilbert. “If anyone still thought Angela Corey was seeking justice rather than making a political power-play, this latest news must erase all doubt. Corey is using the full power of the system to serve her own political ambitions, at the sake of one woman’s life and every woman’s safety.”
The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign is fully resolved to fight for Marissa Alexander’s freedom, and for the lives and freedom of all victims of domestic violence. Among other things, the campaign calls on the Florida legislature to repeal all mandatory minimum laws, and ensure that judges have discretion over whether sentences can be served consecutively or concurrently.
It is curious that in this instance, Corey’s viciousness is directed at a woman and mother. Jacksonville activist and Free Marissa Now leader Aleta Alston-Toure’ adds, “A 60 year sentence for Marissa Alexander would not only be devastating for her, her children and family, and her community, it would be a decisive blow to the right to self-defense for black women and all women. Incarcerating Marissa Alexander will send a strong message to all survivors that violence against them will be ignored and they instead will be subject to prosecution if they defend their lives. It is up to us to make sure victims of domestic violence are not forced to choose between saving their lives and spending the rest of their lives in prison.”
In a recent post, Leslie Salzillo of Daily Kos points out that State Attorney Corey could have dropped the Alexander case when the appellate court overturned the guilty conviction, but instead has chosen to re-try her. Although the higher court’s decision was rendered in September, it wasn’t until Thanksgiving that Marisssa Alexander was finally allowed to go home on house arrest.
Alexander’s Attorney Bruce Zimet has indicated his plan of attack at the upcoming trial.
Naturally, he intends to win an acquittal at trial by arguing that Alexander was acting in self-defense. But he also plans to argue that the 10-20-life law is unconstitutional because it violates the 8th Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Furthermore, he will claim that Alexander cannot be sentenced to 60 years since she was only sentenced to 20 years at her first trial.
University of Florida law professor and retired prosecutor George “Bob” Dekle believes that if Alexander is convicted again the issue of whether she should get 60 years in prison could end up going to the Supreme Court.
Thus, Ms. Alexander’s case is of paramount importance for the state of Florida, and for the rest of the United States. When the July trial finally rolls around, the eyes of the nation will certainly be glued to the Tallahassee courtroom where this abused woman’s fate and future will be hanging in the balance.
The Self-Defense Claim
In order to grasp the unjust nature of the first conviction, a closer look at Alexander’s self-defense claim is warranted.
She has stated that when she fired a warning shot at her estranged husband, Rico Gray, she wasn’t trying to hit Gray or his two children who were present there with him. Alexander has said the incident, which happened days after she’d given birth, began when Gray accused her of infidelity and questioned whether the newborn child was his.
Sensing that things were about to get out of control, Alexander told Gray to leave and locked herself in the bathroom, whereupon he broke through the door, grabbed her by the neck and shoved her to the floor.
Alexander ran into the garage, and like in the scene in the original “Scream”, she found she couldn’t escape because the garage door wouldn’t open, according to the report.
In danger of being hurt or killed, Alexander retrieved a legally-registered handgun gun from the glove compartment of a car in the garage. She then went back into the house. According to Alexander, when Gray saw her, he charged, saying he was going to kill her. Alexander fired the gun.
The prosecution, and now Angela Corey, has questioned whether Alexander was truly in danger and whether she fired the shot directly at Gray.
Without a doubt, the prosecution’s stance is absurd. This is obviously self-defense and would still be self-defense if she had fired in his general direction, which according to Gray himself, she did not.
In his deposition and under oath, Alexander’s husband, Rico Gray, admitted that he had beaten Alexander (and his other ‘baby mamas’). Still under oath, Gray stated Marissa Alexander did not point the gun at him, and that she did the right thing. He said he would have hurt her had she not fired the warning shot.
And then, of course, later on Gray changed his story. He testified that he feared for his life. The bad guy in these cases always fear for their lives. In her post, Leslie Salzillo writes:
It takes all of my calming skills when I write about this case. The injustice taking place is incredible, and again evident on Marissa Alexander’s face in the photo. I can’t imagine the fear she must be experiencing after having been sentenced once already, to 20 years, and now knowing 60 years in prison could very well become a reality given Florida’s fucked-up Gunshine state laws.
“It’s unimaginable that a woman acting in self-defense, who injured no one, can be given what amounts to a life sentence,” said Free Marissa Now spokeswoman Helen Gilbert. “This must send chills down the spine of every woman and everyone who cares about women and every woman in an abusive relationship.”
Contrasting the care and concern for the rights of women that is the marrow and lifeblood of the Free Marissa Now group with Angela Corey’s blatant disregard for the rights of women in general, and black women in particular, is an intensely sobering experience. Leslie Salzillo sums up the sense of foreboding many are feeling, “many of us will hold our breath in fear of what verdict and sentence will be imposed upon Alexander this July.”
The thought of this rather courageous abuse victim getting 60 years for trying to protect herself against a vicious and determined attack is outrageous. It’s hard to believe that one such as Angela Corey is at the prosecutorial helm in the Gunshine State. But she is and she has signaled her intention to come out with her six-shooters blazing at the July trial.