MISPLACED JUSTICE - While the nation's eyes are on the demonstrations around the country over the George Zimmerman verdict—a case that had an abundance of reasonable doubt-- an enormous injustice has slipped through the national radar.
This is the impossible story of an African-American woman, Marissa Alexander, a 32-year-old mother of three, who is now serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida jail for the “crime” of firing a warning shot to scare off her threatening and abusive husband.
Yeah, you read that right.
The Alexander case reads like a nightmare of circumstances that you are sure you will soon wake up from. Only you never wake up, because the nightmare is real.
Alexander was convicted a little over a year ago by a Florida jury that ultimately sided with prosecutors in deciding Alexander’s actions were not in self-defense-- even though she didn't hurt a soul.
As reported on the MSNBC Web site, her sentencing fell under the technical guidelines of what’s known in Florida as the “10-20-Life” law, which requires that any crime committed with a gun earns the perpetrator a minimum ten-year sentence. (Read the rest … including why she fired the warning shot in the first place … here.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 60
Pub: July 26, 2013