If the acquittal of George Zimmerman made you think twice about the effectiveness of our criminal justice system, then the debacle experienced by Florida mom Marissa Alexander will only hammer in the point.
The Jacksonville, FL mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, after firing a warning shot at her enraged husband.
Alexander's husband had been arrested on domestic abuse charges before, and so she knew what he was capable of. When he tried to strangle her on the night of August 1, 2010 over texts sent to her ex-husband, Alexander was truly fearing for her life. She tried to escape her home, but realized she didn't have her car keys and the garage door wouldn't open. She proceeded to grab a gun she had stored in the garage, and fired a warning shot at her husband. No one was actually shot, but Alexander was arrested, tried, and convicted.
The jury in the case rejected her "stand-your-ground" defense, despite upholding it in the case of George Zimmerman. The Jacksonville NAACP wrote a letter to the judge in the trial, wondering if "justice for all includes everyone regardless of gender, race, or economic status." Sure doesn't seem like it.
Source: buzzfeed.com
