Zimmerman Not guilty (page 23)

Mary

Apparently, the 'Stand Your Ground' law in Florida doesn't extend to a black woman trying to defend herself from an abusive husband:

Fla. mom gets 20 years for firing warning shots

Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville, Fla., received a 20-years prison sentence, Friday, May 11, 2012, for firing warning shots against her allegedly abusive husband. The judge rejected a defense under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.

(CBS News) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Florida woman who fired warning shots against her allegedly abusive husband has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville had said the state's "Stand Your Ground" law should apply to her because she was defending herself against her allegedly abusive husband when she fired warning shots inside her home in August 2010. She told police it was to escape a brutal beating by her husband, against whom she had already taken out a protective order

"I really was crying in there," Marissa's 11-year-old daughter told WETV. "I didn't want to cry in court, but I just really feel hurt. I don't think this should have been happening."

Alexander was convicted of attempted murder after she rejected a plea deal for a three-year prison sentence. She said she did not believe she did anything wrong.

She was recently denied a new trial after appealing to the judge to reconsider her case based on Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law. The law states that the victim of a crime does not have to attempt to run for safety and can immediately retaliate in self-defense.

Alexander's attorney said she was clearly defending herself and should not have to spend the next two decades behind bars.

Alexander's case has drawn support from domestic abuse advocates - and comparison to the case of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who has claimed a "Stand Your Ground" defense in his fatal shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

awaken2004

His father is white but i think his mother is from Peru.

garyneal

I just heard that he was a self proclaimed hispanic. If this is true, please tell me again why is this about race?

Violia

The media proclaimed GZ an "older white male" when he actually was biracial , appearing Hispanic. eventually they would refer to him ( reluctantly) as a white Hispanic. Anything to make him a white man to stir up racial hatred. They proclaimed TM a "child" and showed pics of him at age 12 for quite a while after this happened. An obvious attempt to gin up racial hatred.

tootired2care

Mary, with a due respect I think you're making a poor comparison here, there is some particulars in this case that really made the stand your ground not apply.

According to the Guardian:

At some point during the altercation, Alexander went into the garage. She claims she could not flee because the garage door was not working and she did not have the keys to her car. Alexander grabbed her handgun from inside the glove compartment and went back into the house. She fired a single shot at Gray, who was standing in the living room with his sons, ages nine and 13. The shot missed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/17/stand-your-ground-marissa-alexander

She "went back" and shot towards her husband and his thirteen year old sons. The two cases are completely different.

Simon

I have been reading your comments and you speak with the authority of someone that was actually there and witnessed everything first hand. You speak of 'evidence' and 'facts' with the same surety and confidence that the society does. Did you learnt this habit from them I wonder? Not one person here can ever claim to know what happened that day as you seem to keep doing.. to have all the truth and facts on the matter.

oculus aperire: your videos are extremely one-sided. I am commenting on known facts and evidence as shown in the trial, not rumour and supposition as other are doing. So yes, I think I am speaking with "authority" because that is what evidence provides.

If the things I am saying are untrue then I think the prosecution would have said so. They didn't - they were facts that they agreed with.

Sorry the facts don't align with your viewpoint and opinion ... that must be unfomfortable.

sosoconfused

@Oculos thanks for the video.

The second video not only shows that Zimmerman can't keep up with his own story but anyone can see how his stupidity caused this situation.

You are following someone all around the place because they look suspicious, you never identify yourself as a watchperson etc..., then when the person asks you if you have a problem (obviously you must if you are following me) and the bozo says No - yet starts to reach in his pocket.

Any normal person would expect this guy who was following them to be going for a weapon at this point.

awaken2004

Based on some of the articles I read I have to agree with tootired2care on this one. Her own son? Why would she flee from an abusive husban she thought was going to kill her and leave her kid? But 12 minutes to deliberate?

sosoconfused

How / why did oculus aperire videos disappear? I have no idea why the video is one sided if it is just clips of Zimmerman telling his story and tripping all over himself

Zimmerman Not guilty

Fla. mom gets 20 years for firing warning shots

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