Marissa Alexander gets a new trial
A woman sentenced to 20 years in jail for firing a warning shot at her physically abusive husband has been given a new trial. Marissa Alexander whose case was often compared to George Zimmerman’s, will have another opportunity at freedom now that a Florida court of appeals has ruled that a judge did not properly instruct the jury handling Alexander’s case.
The court also ruled however, that the judge was correct in blocking Alexander from using the state’s “stand your ground” law as a way to defend her actions.
As previously reported by Terry Shropshire, Alexander, 31, had never been arrested before she fired a bullet into a wall in 2010 in Jacksonville, Fla. to repel her spouse from beating her.
A jury found her guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon which carried a mandatory 20-year sentence under state law.
No word yet on Alexander’s new trial date.
-danielle canada
