The verdict is in, Marissa Alexander, the 31-year-old Florida woman who fired what her family calls a warning shot at her abusive husband, was sentenced Friday morning to 20 years in prison.
Alexander was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for firing into a wall near her husband and his two young children at their Jacksonville home in 2010. Alexander was standing her ground against a man who had over the course of nearly a year punched and choked her on several different occasions. She believed she was protected that day under the state’s Stand Your Ground Law (cue Trayvon Martin case) which gives people wide discretion in using deadly force to defend themselves. Obviously a judge and a jury disagreed. Read the full story here…
In the light of the Trayvon Martin Case, how do you feel about this verdict? Do you believe there is a double standard with this Florida law?
