A judge rejected her argument of self-defense, saying she could have left the scene but instead retrieved a gun from a car and went back into the house.
A Florida “Stand Your Ground” case has ended with a plea deal that reduces the sentence of a woman who fired a warning shot at her husband from 20 years to 65 days.
Marissa Alexander, who was convicted in 2010 on three counts of aggravated assault, accepted a plea deal that gives her a three-year prison sentence. Since she is begin given credit for time served, she will be released Jan. 27, according to the New York Daily News.
Alexander was convicted of firing a warning shot at her husband, Rico Gray, in 2010 because she feared his abuse. Her defense team invoked the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law that was used to protect George Zimmerman, who gunned down unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin in 2012 in a case that sparked civil unrest throughout the country. However, the judge rejected the defense, arguing that instead of fleeing her abusive husband, Alexander decided to retrieve a gun from a car and run back into the house.
She shot at the wall where her husband was standing, along with their two sons, police said. The state attorney argued that the shot could have ricocheted and hit one of her two sons.
The case received a lot of attention because it brought up issues of domestic violence, as well as the Stand Your Ground clause that created controversy nationwide after the Trayvon Martin shooting that happened two years after Alexander’s incident.
Alexander still faces a second count, meaning she could face another five years in prison at the Jan. 27 hearing, the day of her scheduled release.
Alexander will have to undergo a two-year house arrest after being released from jail.
Under “Stand Your Ground,” the law states that a person who feels threatened has no duty to retreat from a place where they can lawfully be, and can use lethal force if they believe they face the threat of serious bodily injury or death from another individual. A similar law, known as the castle doctrine, is active in 46 states. It states that a person has no duty to retreat from their home if attacked and the person can use any force necessary to defend their home and family.
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