It's been a week and a half since the Zimmerman verdict. I have attended 2 rallys, had several discussions, read numerous stories online and watched just about every Rachel Jeantel, Robert Zimmerman and juror B37 interview. I have had a roller coaster of feelings as a citizen and as a parent.
But in the back of my mind, another story has been nagging at me. The story of a woman by the name of Marissa Alexander who was sentenced to 20 years for firing warning shots to get her abusive husband away from her. Mind you he tried to strangle her over a text message. This happened in the lovely stand your ground state of Florida.
Am I crazy or was this woman standing her ground? Now I have gotten into a debate with a man who is very difficult to argue with on what the law actually is. Well here is the law courtesy of Wikipedia:
A stand-your-ground law is a type of self-defense law that gives individuals the right to use reasonable force to defend themselves without any requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation.
And the precedent:
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Beard v. U.S. (158 U.S. 550 (1895)) that a man who was "on his premises" when he came under attack and "...did not provoke the assault, and had at the time reasonable grounds to believe, and in good faith believed, that the deceased intended to take his life, or do him great bodily harm...was not obliged to retreat, nor to consider whether he could safely retreat, but was entitled to stand his ground."
When I read the story and then I read this, i couldn't understand why she was not given the same acquittal that Zimmerman got. Now what I am hearing is that because she shot those rounds through a wall, she endangered other people. Then allegedly she went back into the house after leaving the house which pretty much voids the fact that she was in danger according to the courts.
She rejected the 3 year sentence (plea deal) because she didn't believe that she did anything wrong. And believe it or not, the jury decided in 15 minutes that she was guilty of aggravated assault.
Now THIS is just outrage! We're talking about a woman who was beaten by a man, she has no priors AND she didn't KILL anyone. Now I understand that different states work in different ways as far as the law is concerned but what law were they looking at when they handed this sentence down? Was she just supposed to stand there and take the beating. This woman had just given birth to a baby 9 days before this incident. Did she really have any clue that she would be going to jail for 20 years for defending herself?
This angers me. A new precedent has been set. 1/3 of the women in the United States have either been in or are currently in abusive relationships. After this case, who is going to want to try and get out? The abusers have turned into the victims and the real victims are now being victimized by the state. Women have been told to fight back, take a stand. For what now? To possibly get jail time so that the abuser can walk the streets?
Discouraging. Not only for women who have to endure abuse and were thinking about finally getting out, but it is another major calamity in the judicial system. Why should we depend on these man made laws for justice? Why is Zimmerman walking free and Ms. Alexander in prison? Zimmerman, the vigilante, Wyatt Earp, broke all the rules. Shot an unarmed boy, didn't even identify himself before doing so, just shot and didn't ask questions. Ms Alexander was trying to avoid a beating while her children were in the house. And she had a protective order against him! Whats wrong here??
Domestic abuse is an issue. Whether it is against women or men it's wrong. The court did not see that. They saw a woman with a gun that was reckless. Not a battered, afraid wife that was afraid for her life and did whatever it took to get away. The law didnt apply here. Someone had something against that woman for what she did. Or someone had their own agenda.
At the Justice for Trayvon Rally, one of the speakers encouraged us to write to the POTUS and ask him to pardon Ms. Alexander. i will be writing an email to Mr. Obama. If stand your ground didn't work for her, it shouldn't work for anyone. The law must go!
To Ms. Alexander I say God bless you for standing up to your abuser.
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