Black Woman Serving 20 Years Due to Florida Stand Your Ground Law Starts Appeal Process

By: Taren Vaughan

The Marissa Alexander appeal process has now started. The case involving 31-year-old Marissa Alexander has gotten more attention after George Zimmerman was found not guilty for the murder of Trayvon Martin. Unlike Zimmerman, Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law didn’t work in Marissa’s favor but instead resulted in her facing a mandatory 20-year sentence for firing a warning shot into the ceiling in an attempt to scare off her abusive husband. And because her husband’s two sons were present in the room during the time she fired the shot, Marissa faces three counts of aggravated assault. Marissa Alexander claims she was simply standing her ground and her attorneys are backing her 100% as they have started the process of filing for an appeal, theGrio reports:

Alexander said she acted out of fear when she ran into her garage and retrieved a gun from her car, then returned to the house to confront Gray. The prosecutor, Angela Corey, argued she acted in anger. Alexander said she was just standing her ground, but a judge rejected that claim. Her lawyers have begun the process of filing an appeal, lead attorney Bruce Zimet, told theGrio.

“We have filed our briefs, the state of Florida has filed their briefs, and we’re waiting for the First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee to set oral arguments or render an opinion,” Zimet said on Monday. “We have no real timetable as to when that’s going to happen.”

Zimet explained the options before the three-judge panel: they could reverse the conviction based on errors found in Alexander’s trial, or they can find that the judge in the case made a mistake by not granting Alexander immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which would result in her being freed. There is a third option: that the judges could reject Alexander’s appeal altogether, leaving her to face 20 years behind bars.

“One of the ironies in the case is that the outcry is to overturn or rescind the Stand Your Ground statute,” Zimet said. “But Marissa is trying to use that statute as the basis for her to be acquitted in the case.”

Marissa’s former husband Lincoln Alexander says Marissa is well aware of how things turned out in the George Zimmerman trial and says her hopes are high. As Marissa appreciates all the support she is getting at the moment, he says she really misses her children.