Happy Thanksgiving! Marissa Alexander Free On Bond

Marissa Alexander, a Florida mom who fired a warning shot at an abusive husband, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, only to be granted a new trial, is free on bond and home with family – in time for Thanksgiving and the holiday season.

Marissa Alexander

After a bond hearing, Alexander – who has served almost three years of the sentence handed down in 2010, was released on three bonds – one for each of her charges for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – totalling $200,000 – just before midnight. She is under house arrest.

State Attorney General Angela Corey released a statement earlier this month stating that her office “will continue to seek justice for our two child victims and their father who were endangered by the shot the defendant fired at them.”

Supporters had hoped that Corey would drop the case against the 33 year-old mother of three who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband. Her sentencing produced an uproar by women’s rights groups and she became an iconic symbol for those against domestic violence.

Alexander was released with special conditions, according to court records, most not unlike any other felony case.

She will be under supervision of the Pretrial Services Program (PSP) with electronic monitoring on house arrest, and is not allowed to leave her home except for medical emergencies, court appearances, or request by the PSP.

Of course, Alexander is ordered (again) not to have any contact whatsoever with Rico Gray or his two boys. Since she is still going through divorce proceedings, all orders pertaining to those proceedings will be facilitated by an unnamed third party.

Alexander is not allowed to possess or be near any firearms, cannot consume any alcohol or drugs, and is subject to random drug testing and warrantless searches.

She was granted a new trial in September, then moved from state prison to Duval County in October. However, the judge at that time only granted a new trial date of March 31, 2014, but denied her bond, disappointing supporters.

Marissa Alexander and daughter

This Movement to End Stand Your Ground supports the movement to free Marissa Alexander and celebrates her release on bond, since her case exemplifies misapplication of stand your ground laws. Based upon the case history, it would appear that Alexander originally would have deserved to have been granted immunity from prosecution under Florida’s stand your ground law, but she was denied immunity.

Happy Thanksgiving, Marissa!
Related articles

• Marissa Alexander Granted New Trial Date (endstandyourground.wordpress.com)
• Marissa Alexander Being Moved From Prison To County Jail (endstandyourground.wordpress.com)
• Marissa Alexander Gets A New Trial (endstandyourground.wordpress.com)
• Marissa Alexander released from jail Wednesday (jacksonville.com)
• Marissa Alexander released from jail for Thanksgiving (thegrio.com)