PHOTO/WEAREULTRAVIOLET
OAKLAND, CA — Days after giving birth to her youngest child of three, Marissa Alexander fired a warning shot to stop Rico Gray, her estranged husband, who abused and threatened to kill her, from carrying out his threat. She had two restraining orders against Gray, and had been hospitalized for injuries he inflicted. Based on his claim that she tried to kill him, police SWAT teams surrounded the house and arrested her.
Special Prosecutor Angela Corey charged Alexander with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, despite the fact that no one was injured. Corey is the same prosecutor who failed to get a conviction against George Zimmerman. In the Zimmerman case, the question was not whether Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, but was killing Trayvon a crime. What an insult to Black people everywhere that state power was used to convict Marissa, while granting immunity to Zimmerman!
Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt denied Marissa Alexander the use of a “Stand Your Ground” defense during her first trial, saying that Alexander could have found a way to leave the house without firing her weapon. Stand Your Ground specifically says that there is no duty to retreat, that if you feel threatened you can use any force you choose to defend yourself. Does that apply only to white men?
In jury deliberations lasting 12 minutes, Alexander was convicted of all counts and received Florida’s mandatory minimum 20-year sentence for each count, to be served concurrently. On appeal, the conviction was overturned, yet Corey pursued a vendetta against Alexander with a particularly sinister move calling for the three twenty-year sentences to be served consecutively. Alexander’s case is a clear example of the racist and sexist bias that mars the criminal justice system.
Faced with another exhausting and expensive trial and the possibility of a 60-year prison term, Marissa accepted a plea deal that returned her to jail. The national organizing campaign is demanding that Ms. Alexander be pardoned. Her children are growing up without their mother due to racial, gender and class bias rampant in the criminal justice system. Join us in demanding a pardon for Marissa Alexander so she can rebuild her life and care for her children.
What You Can Do
➣ Spread the word about this injustice!
➣ Contact Florida Governor Rick Scott (850) 488-7146, The Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001, and President Barack Obama 202-456-1414, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, and demand a pardon!
➣ Demand media coverage of the story!
➣ Contact Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001 and demand that the Department of Justice investigate whether Alexander’s due process rights were denied when she was prevented from using the Stand Your Ground defense.
➣ Donate to Marissa’s legal defense fund at gogetfunding.com/project/marissa-alexander-freedom-fundraiser/
➣ Develop and engage in direct actions highlighting Marissa’s case and other incarcerated women’s experience with the criminal injustice system!
