Fla Judge Flubs "Stand your Ground" shooting case

Discussion in 'Freedom and Liberty' started by tacmotusn, May 15, 2012.


  1. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    No whites involved here, unless the Judge happens to be. Just a battered spouse, and the brute of a husband, twice convicted on spousal abuse charges. One warning round fired to halt advance of threatening husband. A round fired into the ceiling no less. No one was injured, except the shooter a scared female who was charged with agravated assault with a firearm with the intent to kill. Hey calm down. The Judge did this for the children. We don't want no wild mad pistol toting black women shooting up the city. This is Jacksonville Florida for Christs sake. We have a reputation to uphold. IMO the prosecution was over the top in this case, and the Judge supposedly had no choice but to find her guilty, and due to state sentencing guide lines he had to sentence her to 20 years in prison.
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    So my question is; Where is this wild west mentality "stand your ground law" that allows just anybody in the most iffy situation to blow suspected bad guys out of their shoes with a magnum hand cannon?
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    Read the article. ..... You decide the merits ..... Red below is my words also.
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    JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law is coming under more scrutiny, this time in a case involving a woman sentenced to 20 years in prison after firing a gun in the direction of her abusive husband.
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    Marissa Alexander was sentenced last week after a Florida judge rejected her defense citing the "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force in a case where a person is attacked or believes his life or safety is in danger.
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    The controversial law, first enacted in Florida and now in effect in more than 20 other states, has come under growing criticism after the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in February.
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    Alexander, a 31-year-old mother of three, claimed in court that she fired a warning shot into the ceiling of a house after her husband threatened her and moved in her direction. The husband was not hit.
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    In issuing the ruling, the judge said Alexander could have escaped the situation instead of firing her gun.
    Right here is where I have a problem. Under "Stand your Ground", she is not required to retreat. #2 the fact that she was in possession of a firearm within her house or apartment is no crime. By court order he was not even supposed to be there. He should have been arrested. That she went back in to get her keys is a non issue. NO ONE WAS INJURED !!! If he had been sitting on the couch and when she went back in she shot him as he just sat there doing nothing except maybe running his mouth, then I agree, maybe she deserves this. But in assessing the situation with the facts provided this appears to be a terrible injustice from all views!
    Florida's minimum-sentence guidelines require Alexander to serve 20 years in prison because a gun was fired in the incident.
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    A member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and an advocacy group opposed to minimum prison sentencing guidelines have all rallied behind Alexander, calling her sentence harsh.
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    Greg Newburn, Florida project director for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said under the sentencing guidelines Alexander would not be granted early release or opportunities for parole.
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    "I operate under the assumption, for argument's sake, that even if everything the state attorney alleges is true, the 20-year sentence is still obscene," Newburn said.
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    "I don't argue that the sentence is unjust because she is innocent, I argue that the sentence is unjust because it does not fit the circumstances."
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    DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
    Representative Corrine Brown of Florida, who attended the sentencing, issued a statement criticizing the prison term.
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    "If women who are victims of domestic violence try to protect themselves, the 'Stand Your Ground' law will not apply to them," she said.
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    "Just minutes before the incident, Marissa's husband told her 'If I can't have you, nobody is going to have you.' Millions of abused women have heard those words."
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    Alexander alleged that during the August 1, 2010, incident her husband choked her and refused to let her leave the house. She said she eventually escaped to the garage, then realized she left her car keys behind and returned, carrying a handgun.
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    The office of Florida State Attorney Angela Corey said evidence at the scene suggested the shot was fired in a more threatening direction and put at risk two children who were also in the home at the time.
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    Corey said she offered Alexander a plea deal for a three-year sentence, but she refused. "She turned it down through a trial where she took the stand and, based on our assertion of the facts and based on our presentation of the evidence, she was found guilty," Corey said.
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    Relatives of Alexander say she plans to appeal and intends to take her case to Florida's clemency board, which has broad powers to reduce sentences or even pardon convicted criminals.
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    Alexander had no prior criminal record and possessed a court-issued protective order against her husband at the time of the attack.
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    Alexander's husband, Rico Gray, was arrested in 2006 and 2009 on charges of domestic battery.
     
  2. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    Mixed response on this.

    She was outside and safe, knew he was volatile and chose to go in with a gun to get her keys when she could have called police.

    20 years is exceedingly harsh, but she did choose to go BACK into the situation AFTER ESCAPING and took a gun with her...I think I have to go with the judge on this one.
     
    Brokor likes this.
  3. sgt peppersass

    sgt peppersass Monkey+

    i see what you mean pax, she should of called the cops when she left. She couldnt go far without keys though. Ugly situation and way to harsh. Just think plaxico burress got not even two years for discharging an illegal firearm in a busy NY night club. Have to hate the broken system
     
  4. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I think Pax has this right, and it seems to me the liberal corporate media is attempting to capitalize on this situation.
    The title is misleading and clearly designed to hit home with a slanted view.
     
  5. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    I would love to see all the evidence that the jury did. In any event, the mandatory sentencing is the problem. Harsh anti-crime legislation often is an emotional reaction to a situation, and does as much harm as it does good. The judge is there for a reason, and while some are incompetent a$$es, mandatory sentencing is not the best answer, particularly for first time offenders.
     
  6. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Mandatory sentencing has its place, more or less assures uniformity across jurisdictions. However, it makes the judge a figurehead to simply chair the meeting; cannot exercise judgement without censure, even if right in doing so. That sentence is harsh. It also illustrates the idiocy of a warning shot.
     
  7. jungatheart

    jungatheart Beginner's Mind

    Jeez Louise, you guys would have me read three law books before I took the safe off. Guy beat her before and was going to beat her again. She didn't shoot him, just the ceiling to warn him to not beat her again.

    Call the cops? What a joke. I think she did the right thing. Defending oneself doesn't allow for deep philosophical thinking just action.

    This is more liberal BS to keep us from protecting ourselves. When that's done, they'll take everything you have and they don't without worry.
     
    tacmotusn likes this.
  8. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    "Alexander alleged that during the August 1, 2010, incident her husband choked her and refused to let her leave the house. She said she eventually escaped to the garage, then realized she left her car keys behind and returned, carrying a handgun."

    Simply because I believe he needed shot; I have a mixed response also.

    Then I flipped (spun :D) it in my mind and thought why would I go back inside? Guess I would have to be on the jury to fairly decide..
     
    Brokor likes this.
  9. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    Has anyone considered the mother grizzly defense. She escaped to the garage and her car on purpose. With or without keys it held a way out and the chance to take her children with her. She knew her gun was in her car. When she returned for her keys (if indeed she didn't have them already), she could have been going back for her kids, and there was no way this SOB was going to stop her now that she was armed. I think she showed a great deal of restraint. He is still sucking air in and out.
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    20 years is total BS !!!
     
    TheyCall MeBruce and jungatheart like this.
  10. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    I agree wholeheartedly with this part.

    On the other stuff, If he had followed her to the garage, or if she had even CLAIMED that she had returned to get the kids or even any indication or claim that he might have at some point in the past harmed the kids...I could follow. Heck...I might even buy it if she claimed he hadn't assaulted her before she went to the garage, so she had no reason to expect to be accosted if she went back in. . However, She had escaped the situation when she went to the garage and was not pursued. At least by that time, she was armed. There was no threat to her, she has alleged no threat to her children and she could have easily contacted police who would have diffused the situation one way or another.

    Instead, she chose to go back in with the gun to "get her keys", effectively (if not literally) daring him to interfere. At best, it is out of the parameters for self defense and, at worst, attempting to provoke a confrontation in order to justify shooting him.

    20 years is way too long...that is the fault of the sentencing law...but that doesn't make her innocent. Based on the story here, I don't think the 3 year offer was out of the realm of reason, but she apparently threw the dice.
     
  11. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

     
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