Marissa Alexander, the Jacksonville woman sentenced to prison for firing a warning shot near an abusive ex-husband, walked free yesterday, if by “free” you mean “under a judge’s supervision for 2 years.” And there probably won't be much walking on her part; she can only go "where her court-mandated GPS ankle monitor allows.”
But the plea deal that let her transition to house arrest represents a victory for justice when weighed against the possible 60 years behind bars Alexander would have faced if she had been convicted (again) at her second trial.
It seems less worth celebrating when weighed against things like the facts of her case, the precedent of other recent cases, and the law as written.
For those who’ve forgotten (and Alexander’s ordeal has dragged on for years now, so you’re forgiven): In August 2010, Alexander was assaulted by her abusive, estranged husband in her home. She defended herself with a handgun she was licensed to carry. She didn’t hurt or kill anyone in the process of defending herself, though there were children present.
In 2012, Alexander rejected a plea deal and was convicted of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Alexander rejected the initial plea in part because she believed her actions were protected under — wait for it — Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law. Her deal today was attained on appeal of her initial conviction.
So, without undergoing the drudgery of having to read state statute, the way cases have played out seems to suggest the law reads as such:
Any clearly deranged and delusional male, when within, oh, let’s call it 30 miles of his house, may feel free to pursue, assault, and kill any shadowy figure he feels vaguely threatened by.
Women may feel free to defend themselves when safely ensconced in the kitchen and/or bedroom, but the law is not applicable if a woman is assaulted by her husband.
So, it's Alexander’s bad. Florida’s law is clear!
Kidding aside, the radically unequal treatment of Marissa Alexander and George Zimmerman is about as much proof as any sane person could possibly need that, however the laws may be written, our justice system is set up to apply them as selectively and mutably as the individual players please. In Florida (though certainly not just in Florida) black women are less equal under the law.
Not convinced? Try this: Alexander was prosecuted by Angela Corey — the same prosecutor who let George Zimmerman off. You can’t make this shit up.
Alexander will, in addition to wearing an ankle monitor, be required to pay for said monitor, to the tune of thousands of dollars over two years. She’s sure to receive community support for that and other expenses as she gets her life back together — her legal defense fund has raised nearly $60,000 over the last four years.
Oh, but that upbeat note has its own horrific, shameful counterpoint! Because you know how much George Zimmerman’s legal defense fund raised? Over $300,000. In just a few months.
As the Free Marissa Now group put it, “We have always believed that forcing Marissa to serve even one day in prison represents a profound and systemic attack on black women’s right to exist and all women’s right to self-defense.”
On this bittersweet day, I’d say that just about sums it up.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2015.