august 1, 2010 - nine days after giving birth to a premature daughter, marissa alexander was attacked by her estranged husband in their home - while his sons were present. alexander writes, "in an unprovoked jealous rage, my husband violently confronted me while using the restroom. he assaulted me, shoving, strangling and holding me against my will, preventing me from fleeing all while i begged for him to leave." she retrieved her lawfully registered gun and fired a warning shot upwards into a wall to prevent him from killing her. no one was injured by her weapon.
february 10, 2011 - alexander began her incarceration.
august 17, 2011 - alexander was denied stand your ground immunity from prosecution.
may 11, 2012 - alexander was found guilty of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. she received a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.
july 10, 2013 - alexander was denied bond, pending her appeal of the guilty verdict.
september 26, 2013 - alexander successfully appealed the 2012 trial, the guilty verdict was overturned, and she was given the right to a new trial. the appellate court ruled the jury instructions put too much of a burden on her. a three-panel judge ruled, "the defendant's burden is only to raise a reasonable doubt concerning self-defense. the defendant does not have the burden to prove the victim guilty of the aggression defended against beyond a reasonable doubt." the appellate court did not overturn the 2012 court decision to deny alexander stand your ground immunity from prosecution.
october 31, 2013 - alexander's re-trial was scheduled for march 31, 2014.
november 27, 2013 - alexander was released on bond the night before thanksgiving. she spent 1,021 days in prison. she is currently under house arrest with special conditions, which include: posting a $200,009.00 bond; remaining under the supervision of the pretrial service program at all times; subject to 24/7 electronic monitoring, and remaining in home detention until her case is completed.
january 7, 2014 - state prosecutor angela corey filed a motion to revoke alexander's bond release, claiming alexander violated the condition of her release. alexander's legal team filed a response to the motion, stating the correctional staff supervising her bond release confirmed she complied with all of the conditions of her bond release and is not in violation of her bond. the hearing is scheduled for january 10, 2014.
january 10, 2014 - corey's motion to revoke alexander's bond release was denied. alexander remains under home detention - and, with more restrictive conditions.
january 30, 2014 - alexander's trial was postponed to july 28, 2014.
march 1, 2014 - the florida times-union reported corey seeks a 60 year sentence for alexander if she is found guilty in her 7/28 trial. corey argued the mandatory minimum statute required alexander to serve three 20 year sentences consecutively, not concurrently, tripling the mandatory minimum.
march 14, 2014 - alexander's legal team filed a motion requesting a new stand your ground hearing.
may 16, 2014 - judge james daniel did not issue a ruling on alexander's motion for a new stand your ground hearing. judge daniel said he would rule in june, and is accepting written arguments through the month of may.
june 10, 2014 - judge daniel postponed alexander's trial to december 8, 2014. jury selection begins on december 1. the judge - and her defense team - wanted more time to see how the recent changes in the stand your ground law will impact her case. alexander's next court date is scheduled for august 1, when the judge expects to decide if she will get a new stand your ground hearing.
june 21, 2014 - changes to florida's stand your ground law went into effect. one of the changes expands the law to cover warning shots. alexander's case is cited as an inspiration for the reform.
july 21, 2014 - alexander was denied a new stand your ground hearing. she will not receive immunity from prosecution and must defend herself again in a new trial, scheduled for 12/8.
november 24, 2014 - alexander accepted a plea deal with the state of florida. the plea deal includes time served (1,030 days); an additional 65 days in duval county jail, beginning today; and two years of probation serving house detention while wearing a surveillance monitor. she will be in jail until january 27, 2015 - the date of her next hearing.
january 27, 2015 - alexander was released from prison today. the state attorney's office tried to add two years probation to her (plea deal) sentence, but they failed. alexander intends to go to school and become a paralegal.
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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