Black Woman Sentenced 20 Years for Firing Warning Shot Gets New Trial

By: Taren Vaughan

More Marissa Alexander new trial news has been revealed. The Marissa Alexander case has drawn in much more attention in the past several months as the acquittal of George Zimmerman led people to turn their attention towards other ongoing cases related to Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the incident, 33-year-old Marissa Alexander fired a warning shot into the ceiling of her home in an effort to scare off her estranged husband. According to Marissa, she acted out of self-defense as she felt threatened by her husband who was said to have been abusive towards her.

Marissa’s claim that she was standing her ground did not work in her favor however as she is currently facing 20 years in prison and three counts of aggravated assault because her husband’s two sons were in the room when she fired the shot. People couldn’t wrap their heads around why Marissa got sentenced to 20 years in prison while George Zimmerman can take an innocent person’s life and get away with it and it’s believed that it all boils down to race. Marissa Alexander is determined to prove she was acting out of self defense though as her lawyers started up the process of filing for an appeal for her sentence.

With the help of her lawyers, Marissa Alexander has now been granted a new trial. According to The Huffington Post, an appeals court ruled today for Marissa Alexander to get a new trial but she won’t be able to argue that she was defending herself based on the “Stand Your Ground” law. The lst District Court of Appeal felt Marissa should be granted a new trial due because the judge over her case failed to provide the jury with proper instructions on what is necessary to prove self-defense.