Marissa Alexander appeared in court Friday morning to request a new Stand Your Ground immunity hearing, hoping for a chance to demonstrate that the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband justified her use of a warning shot to defend herself. Prosecutors say her first hearing was sufficient and that none of the new evidence Alexander’s team will produce was not “new enough to matter.” Both legal teams have been given until the end of May to present written filings, and Judge James Daniel will rule on the matter of a new hearing in early June. In the meantime, Alexander is free on bond.
Alexander was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012. Because of improper jury instructions in that first trial that laid the burden of proof on her rather than the prosecution, she was granted a new one, to start July 28. Florida State Attorney Angela Corey has said that she intends to pursue consecutive, rather than concurrent, sentences with this new trial, which under mandatory minimum sentencing would put Alexander in prison until she’s 93.
To support Alexander’s legal defense, Prison Culture will be selling an anthology of stories, poetry, and original art about women of color who have been imprisoned for defending themselves.
Prison Culture is releasing a limited edition of 150 copies of “No Selves to Defend: A Legacy of Criminalizing Women of Color for Self Defense” to help raise money for Marissa Alexander’s legal defense fund.
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The book will feature the Alexadner’s incarceration story along with those of Lena Baker, Inez Garcia, Rosa Lee Ingram, Joan Little, Cece McDonald, the New Jersey 4, Cassandra Peten, Bernadette Powell, Juanita Thomas, Yvonne Wanrow and Dessie Woods.
The book will be available in early June for $50 plus $5 shipping from the Chicago Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander.