So Florida, only certain people can use the “Stand Your Ground” law to justify their actions?
By: Taren Vaughan
In the state of Florida, there are just certain things that you can not get away with. And the methods that you use to defend yourself could land you right in prison, despite the fact that the only injured parties were a wall and a ceiling.
This past Friday, 31-year-old Florida resident Marissa Alexander was charged with not one but a total of three counts of aggravated assault. To throw even more salt in the wound, she is now facing 20 years behind bars. Her sentence was not a result of her taking anyone’s life or injuring anyone. She was merely protecting herself from her abusive husband during a heated spat. Because of the “Stand Your Ground” law that the state has in place, Alexander was not going to walk away a free woman, despite the attempt of her lawyers, who described Alexander’s record as being squeaky clean:
“She’s never been in trouble, has a Ph.D. The lady is a great mother to her own kids and her step-children. And the law is not made for her. The legislature did not think about people like her when they made the law.” –Attorney Kevin Cobbin
Defending her character to the fullest, the judge couldn’t be lenient on her sentence whatsoever due to the rigidity of the law. Her violation of the law occurred when she reportedly left the room to retrieve the gun. Because of that, she was viewed as being out of harm’s way once she exited the room.
Here’s the thing, no one, absolutely no one was harmed in this incident so why is Ms. Alexander on her way to a cold jail cell? Protecting herself from her husband was all she was doing, an abusive husband at that. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that didn’t warrant some sort of defense?
Hadn’t she fired the shots, she may not be living at this very moment. And leaving the house may not have been an option for her, seeing as though her kids were still in there.
It is amazing that George Zimmerman could walk around freely after murdering Trayvon Martin for months and would have probably continued to live his life had it not been for the outrage that surfaced. Yet, this woman fires a gun, bullet hitting not a soul, and gets a 20 year sentence within the blink of an eye. He walked towards the “danger” remember?
And as expected, the two cases are being compared and another round of rage has reared its ugly head.
Is this woman deserving of being a felon?
Furthermore, does this law only work in the favor of some?
Sad situation, but black people have to always remember that the laws aren’t here to protect US. This is true despite having a black president. This is such a sad story but it just proves that the Trayvon Martin was the one exception, and that we have to start fighting for all of those that are dealt injustice.
So where’s the outrage for this black woman? It’s amazing how Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton are silent on this situation, but jumped on the Trayvon Martin case quickly. We need real leaders in the black community, not these greasy old pimp daddies who wait for the real work to be done before joining the cause.
Jessie and Al use cilvil rights as a means to wealth. And it’s worked because both are millionaires. They request high fees for appearances and usually only want to do TV appearances. The sad thing about it is that there really isn’t any young black leaders in the making, so they continue to be the only representation for black people.
20 years and nobody was wounded or killed? The justice systems continues to be a joke in America. This makes sense because I read yesterday that the number of black mothers incarcerated is at an all time high. I guess they figure that since they achieved their goal of locking up the majority of black men, might as well go after the women as well. The plan is to keep most black people behind bars I guess.
Who does the Stand Your Law Ground Really Protect? That’s easy. Anybody who isn’t black.
This woman most certainly should not have received that sentence. She should’ve been applauded for defending herself. There’s no doubt of that.
However, why does everyone have to make EVERYTHING a black/white issue. That law is a stupid law that should be repealed but it applies to everyone. Black people and white people. People (black and white) seem to want to make everything about what color someone’s skin is these days. It would be so nice if folks would drop the knee jerk reaction of automaticly making everything about race.