Marissa Alexander (c. 1981- ), mother of three from Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced on May 11th 2012 to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot when her abusive husband threatened to kill her and came at her. No one was harmed – except her when he beat her earlier. She argued self-defence based on the Stand Your Ground law in Florida. The police, judge and jury did not buy it.
The prosecutor in the case was Angela Corey, who is also prosecuting Trayvon Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman.
Alexander’s husband, Rico Gray, had a past of beating and choking her. One time it got so bad it landed her in the hospital and he was arrested. After that she got a court order of protection – and a gun (with a permit and training).
On the night of August 1st 2010 Gray found out that she had sent pictures of their newborn daughter to her ex-husband. He went into a jealous rage, cornered her, started beating her. She got away and ran to her truck in the garage. But when she got there she had no keys. She tried to open the garage door but it was stuck. She had no phone so she could not call for help.
She got her gun from her truck and entered the house to find another way out or at least get her phone. But when she entered the kitchen there he was, her two stepsons in the next room. She was holding the gun down at her side.
He yelled, “Bitch, I will kill you!” and charged.
She held up the gun, turned away and fired a shot into the air, hitting the kitchen wall.
… a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm…
– Stand Your Ground law, Florida
The police arrested her.
Her Congresswoman, Corrine Brown, comparing it to Zimmerman:
How in Jacksonville you shoot in the air and no one gets hurt and you get 20 years and less than 50 miles down the road, less than 20 miles down the road, you shot and murdered somebody and you don’t even get arrested.
The judge and jury saw her as acting out of anger, not fear and self-defence. They say that coming back into the house showed she was not afraid.
It took the jury 12 minutes to find her guilty of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Because she fired a gun, she gets 20 years under Florida’s strict gun laws.
Corey, the prosecutor:
I feel like when someone fires a loaded gun inside of a home with two children standing in the direction where the bullet was fired, we have to have tough laws that say you don’t do that. Justice, with the laws of the state of Florida, was served.
Alexander:
What was I supposed to do that day and the Stand Your Ground law, who is it for?
See also:
WHITE SUPREMACY at work!
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@ Abagond
It’s stuff like this that drives me batty. When you shoot a “thug”, it’s justified. AmeriKlans will donate over 200,000 dollars in your defense.
When a black woman tries to protect herself from a would be attacker, there’s no such thing….because we are always gagging for it.
If this was a blonde, blue-eyed woman, Corey would be all over it calling for the husband’s arrest.
This country has fallen hard in my eyes.
It can’t sink any lower.
Last night, Brothawolf said, ” It’s open season on black people. ”
How right he is.
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One more thing…don’t think that the ” super- powered, fast as a speeding bullet, hypersexual, bullet-defying, vengeful, waiting to attack white people” stereotype doesn’t apply to black women….because AmeriKlans prove EVERY DAMN DAY that it does.
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“I feel like when someone fires a loaded gun inside of a home with two children standing in the direction where the bullet was fired…,”
Unless her kids were floating I am certain that she never put her own children at risk when she fired the gun, she didn’t even put her soon-to-be attacker at risk since she never shot at him. This is disappointing and I’m starting to want to avoid any news coming out of Florida. That woman needs to be released or at least get a re-trial where the jurors really consider the situation/case.
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See this, this is exactly what pisses me off so much.
A black woman can be beaten, abused, and live in fear, and that’s somehow an “acceptable” life for her. Like, they take more issue with the fact that she pulled a gun and shot it at a man who was hurting her, than the fact that she was being beaten.
It’s like the message is: Clearly she shouldn’t ever feel threatened enough to pull a gun, because as we know, black women aren’t people! If anything, they’re made of teflon so insults don’t stick and fists don’t hurt them! However, men who shoot teenagers? They’re totally scared little abused mice who need special protection and a defense fund!
If this were a white woman (especially the “right” kind of white woman) she’d be the one with a 200,000 defense fund.
Am I the only one who see’s an odd timing thing with this? Like, the Jury left and came back that quickly, a sentence that harsh…are they trying to send a message of WHO gets to “Stand Your Ground” in Florida?
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I don’t know the whole story but from what I just read….Why on earth will any fool find this woman guilty (that Corey individual and others like her are demons and don’t care about anyone but their selfish ways) .
Abagond, what exactly was she found guilty of? Did she have a gun illegally or something?
What the hell was she found guilty of?
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@ Green
She is guilty of Living While Black.
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Thanks, I think I will follow this.
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Are you f**&&^% kidding me? This is a travesty of justice. LIke the woman said, what should she have done? Twenty years because she shot the gun during a crime? What crime? This whole case simply baffles the imagination. If this was decided by the judge presiding over the Zimmerman case, I see no hope that justice will actually be served.
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@truthbetold
The “Stand Your Ground” Law should be called the “open season on people of color law.” It’s Jim Crow in a brand new suit is what that crap is. As we can see, it was a law written to benefit murderous racists. It was obviously not written to protect people like Marissa Alexander.
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@ Green
She had a permit for the gun and was trained to use it.
She was found guilty of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, meaning she intended to or could have hurt them when she fired the gun.
The prosecutor, judge and jury saw her as acting out of ANGER, not fear. They see her going to the garage not to leave in her truck but to get her gun and return. They felt that if she was truly afraid she would have left through the front door, the sliding glass door or the window of the master bedroom. Though why she would leave on foot when her truck was right there is unclear.
Also, under Stand Your Ground you are not required to leave your house – thus the name “stand your ground”. And in this case HE was under a restraining order, so he had no right to even be there in the first place.
Corey makes a huge deal of what took place LATER: later when Alexander was out on bail she disobeyed the judge’s orders and went to see her husband. She said she needed insurance papers signed for their daughter. They fought and she wound up giving him a black eye. She was arrested for that. Corey says this showed a lack of remorse and that she is not a “peaceful person”.
Unlike Trayvon, Alexander is NOT the Perfect Victim. Like many battered wives, her actions are not always what someone NOT in her shoes would have done. Like she dropped the charges against her husband for the assault that put her in the hospital.
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I have no words for this. This truly hurts to know the law has been twisted to suit one and not to suit the other that the law would actually apply to. Is anyone fighting to reopen this case?
I mean seriously how many cases has been seen where the white abused woman gets off for killing her husband and claiming self-defense. They get lifetime movies.
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The second I heard about this case, I knew that they’d find some bullshit way to avoid allowing Stand Your Ground laws to apply. If they hadn’t, it might have allowed a victimized woman of color to be viewed sympathetically, and we clearly can’t have that. It’s like the law was specifically designed to only protect remorseless racists and murderers like Zimmerman instead of victims like Alexander.
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This is just… weird.
If verdicts like this one and the kenneth Chamberlain’s one are actually backed up by US laws, then there is something seriously fvcked up in US laws.
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last night my family and I talked about the burden of our ethnicity in this country. we’re seriously thinking about leaving. there is a war going on involving black people in america and we cannot sit there waiting to be destroyed.
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This is the System at work.
“One law for them, another law for us.”
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Ok just found some more information on the case. According to the huffington post it was reported that Alexander repeatedly returned to Gary after the incident. Which indicated to them that she was not fearful but rather an angry woman.
I hate that people who have not been in abusive relationships make laws. My mother was in an abusive relationship for years with my father and she did not think rational at all. She kept going back trying to work things out and always would end the same. My mom finally left my father and made sure he stayed gone. My sister was beaten and left for dead in an alley by her abusive boyfriend. The next day when she was out of the hospital she threw bleach in his face. The first thing he did was ran to the police. Got scared half way there and did not press charges, so it is a little suspicious that the husband Gary would tell cops a woman beat him up.
They claim the kids corroborated the story, but I believe the 911 tapes would better corroborate it. Something is just not right in this case.
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@ diaryofanegress
I know what you mean. I have been thinking about leaving this country since I was 16, but I have thus far stayed for family and friends. I think it is an option that should be reconsidered.
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I hope that this lady is able to get the D.O.J. involved. Florida as a state should be ashamed of its so called criminal justice system. American is supposed to have one of the best legal systems in the world. What many people don’t realize is that what besets the Black community, will ultimately happen in their communities, Black people are the litmitus test for what will likely happen in the rest of society.
From a Spiritual standpoint, Flordia is getting ready to be hit with a lot of problems. Due to an inability or unwillingness to prosecute crime properly, the state of Flordia will end up spending a lot of money, and a number of the people who are working in their criminal justice system are going to be disgraced, and lose their jobs. The crime/murder rate is going to go up in that state, and it will not just be an increase in so called Black crime rates, but across the board. The justice system in Flordia is going to absolutely crash under the pressure/onslought of excessive cases, and incarcerating an unusually high number of people unjustly. The state will also be facing an excessive backlog of appeals, lawsuits, and investigation of its law enforcement personel, for miscarriages of justice. I think the federal government will be forced to intervene, in order to try and straighten the entire mess out.
Conclusion: Flordia is at a critical juncture, it needs to implement reforms in the Criminal Justice system, and to review the “Stand your ground law”. I am no oracle, but I have a strong sense that Flordia will be facing some spiritual reprecussions, for not being ethical and just. The United States is beginning to lose the respect of the rest of the world due to cases like the one listed here. For example, during the controversy surrounding Ai Weiwei, the Chinese government chided America for its treatment of minorities, and high rates of unjust incarceration of POC.
My greatest hope is that America will begin to implement some major reforms in the justice system.
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@ Ace
Excellent point.
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Abagond:
The criminal justice system is bad for black folk in general, even worse for blackwomen. As a race, we’ve ignored the plight of sistas who’ve been victimized by the hypocritical legal system in this country as well as so-called black leadership. It’s amazing how fast Sharpton and the other talking heads jump up when the victim is a black male but remain silent when it’s a black female…Amazing! Let’s not lose sight of the fact that we have a so-called black president at this time who runs away from the black community, yet, his boy Eric Holder can file a lawsuit against Sheriff Joe in Arizona for political expediency but ignores all of the black victims of police brutality, police corruption, fraud prosecutors, and so forth. If the law is not gonna be applied in a common sense way, get rid of it…ASAP! If Pres. Obama and other elected officials can’t come to the rescue of this sista and many others, there’s no sense in voting for their lame asses anyway…Real Talk! Blackwomen are being railroaded by the law and we as blackmen have the nerve to chase around whitewomen who would be given a slap on the wrist if they were in the same situation…Unbelievable!
Tyrone
MindScape
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Americans have been inculcated with the belief that “white skin” has more value than black skin, this is understood, and constantly reinforced. Yet, how many have heard a white person say that blacks recieve so many priviledges that they wished that “they” were black? How many have heard someone say that animals have more rights than humans?? Nothing is going to change until white people can be lead to truely empathize with the experience of black american’s.
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That is a sad story..does she have any posibility of apeal ?
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@Dave Myers
We can’t wait on white folks to change, the sista needs to be free right this minute. When white folk become comfortable disrespecting black womanhood out in the open, it’s history repeating itself. Dave, we’ve failed our sistas in so many ways in this country, you have no idea how angry i am right now typing this post, i could literally explode into a million pieces blackman. Black people, white folks have never changed, and i don’t see them humbling themselves anytime soon. We’ve been the suckers all this time, not them. They have too much envy in them to think and act otherwise, that’s how i see it. If neither party steps up to the plate to correct this travesty, both of them can go to hell and stay there. If Obama wants my vote in November, he has to show me something in regard to this case. Michelle Obama has to show her metal as well. Come on black people, we have a black president who is married to a blackwoman and this bull**** is still taking place…What The F***?
Tyrone
MindScape
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Wow, I’m just smh at this whole situation.
I mean really? So basically they expected her to just flat out leave her children in the house with the abuser or get pummeled to death while calling for help….unbelievable. She fires a warning shot and automatically she’s the “bad guy” and charged. So sad and my question is what happens to the children in all this? Just another case of the system tearing apart another family.
Now if this was a “well to do” white woman. Oh please, this would’ve been plastered all over the news,rallies,blogs and feminists would’ve been coming to her aid with bail, but now since it’s a black woman. It’s “Typical”. I’m just really astounded at the prosecutor, like really? So he overlooks the children growing up in a abusive environment with a battered mother, but is quick to call foul on her for giving a warning shot to her abuser with no bodily harm?
Geez, they’re ALWAYS quick to charge blacks, but whenever it’s the opposite it takes a quarter of a century for them to charge them and nevermind the fact what type of punishment they give them is fair.
Open season all over again.
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I say again, what are some of the “first steps” that need to be taken, to begin to change the way that whites look at us?
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@B. R.
I can tell you from working in this shame of a justice system that they do not care one bit. They are quick to put you in and they take a slow time to make one once of a effort to get you out. I did hear that she filed an appeal that was denied, but I am not sure how true or false that is because some media outlets like to shift things.
In some cases they try to blackmail you into taking a plea or guilt you into it. Alexander will not get even remotely heard unless a big fuss is made about it and even then they may pretend to be fair only to go back to the same conclusion they already made.
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….. was the jury of her peers all white?
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@ Dave Myers
Please share your thought because on that question I have no idea.
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@stevenhaws
Does it really matter? I mean it was an injustice none the less.
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Truthbetold, I can totaly understand your desire to move. I did it myself 26 years ago, and, I think the real reason among some other valid things is, I didnt want my wife and son to be shot through the racism grease that is specific to the USA. I dont hate the USA, each individual has to have their own answer to that, and, where we live, unfortunatly , just has another kind of racism, but, it isnt as hard as the USA, after raising my son here, I feel I made the right desician
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Sharina, just saw your post above, thanks for the answer and I feel for the story you told about you
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@Sharina
it is a great injustice and I do believe that, but the thing is that this was brought upon 12 people who had nothing to do with the criminal justice department, too come in and sit down listening too this, and people are blaming everyone else but the the Jury. if this case is obviously open and shut as racial profiling as it seems to be shown dramatically those ass holes on the Jury are all racist bastards! regardless of all their Ethnicity.
or I could be wrong. as I usually am lol
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@ B. R.
Thanks. My sister and my mom are stronger for it once they realized they can do better and have been just amazing once they embodied that strength they needed. Me and my younger sister are stronger and I have literally beat the snot out of the one man ( my stepfather) who felt he had the right to hit me. I made perfectly sure that was his first and last time and he regretted it highly.
I think Alexander was at that point of enough is enough and was preparing to stand her ground. To prove she was not afraid and to be punished for that is just plain ridiculous. What does the really say to women in that situation? Oh no you have no right to hit a man back or defend yourself. Are the laws going to go back to rape of women is legal?
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@ stevenhaws
I see where you are coming from and that is an interesting point in regards to the jury. I think a lot of people see them as just show these days. I mean the injustice usually begins before it makes it to court. I want to believe that this happened regardless of race and I keep holding on to that, but a lot of times I really just don’t know.
Even though people are looking for a jury that is not biased, that is never the case. People on jury appear to be and they can be swayed just by the most simple sentence. Even with women jury, a lot of women look at another woman and are quick to say she had other options, but they do not know unless it happens to them.
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Well Sharina, I would never profess to have all the answers, but I would think that one major component is Education in an even-handed sense. Over-coming the eurocentric slant that most of us have recieved is one less obstacle that white american’s need hurdle, and is one more that black american’s must navigate. The quest for “self-love” may seem personal to some, but “self-hate” is something that black america has systematically fed.
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@ Dave Myers
You make an interesting point, but it really begs the question of does it really matter what we do as black people. Mrs. Marissa Alexander comes off as a beautiful educated black woman and here she is in jail serving 20 years for protecting herself.
She has played their game and here she is suffering for it where another person may have gotten less time or not even arrested or charged.
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@Sharina
that is the problem, people being biased, that is one of the reasons that both the lawyers, Defense and Prosecutor both go through a Jury questioning, too attempts to weed out the biased ones, they will never be perfect but its the only way too be as fair as possible about it.
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The American justice system isn’t even bothering to pretend it’s not racist.
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Marissa Alexander wasn’t the first Black woman being convicted for protecting herself against male aggression. There’s an almost 60-year old case of Ruby McCullum, who was sentenced to the electric chair for defending herself against her white aggressor.
http://abww.wordpress.com/tag/ruby-mccullum/
Stephanie
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Yes Sharina, but it is , very unfortunately I think, the very bitter pill that we as black american’s must swallow .
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@ stevenhaws
I agree the system is completely biased, but what a lot of people do that realize is the bias is way before you get to the courtroom. It is in the officers that protect the streets.
The attorneys are no better.
When I was working in the Solicitors office there was this one case that made me want to quit right on the spot. A woman was arrested for possession of crack cocaine. The arresting office found it wrapped up in a bundled up dollar she had in her pocket. The woman was stopped at a road block on her way home from her waitress job. She had just stuffed the tips in her pocket and left. When they searched her and had her pull out the money and count it the drugs were found and she was arrested. One of the attorney’s in the office called and kept pressuring her into taking a deal and she refused because she was not lying. They wanted her to take drug test to prove it (she would be paying for it). They would purposely schedule to meet with her during times she was at work and then claim she was avoiding them.
My question even today is why did the cops need to search her money. It was not something in plain sight and to top it off it was not even enough drugs to get high for any type of regular drug user.
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@ Dave Myers
That is true. The thing I am proud to say though is in our area more blacks are concerned with school. More blacks here are educating themselves. I don’t believe it is just my area though I believe it to be going on across country.
I also believe that knowledge is power and the more knowledge we have the more they are going to start to fear us. A lot of that fear is the belief that we as blacks are going to do to them what they have been doing to us for years.
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@Sharina
Truth be told, it doesn’t matter if Marissa is urban or suburban…the system is gonna tie her hands regardless. As black people, we have to remember that whites will always look out for their own first and foremost because they’re the majority. Whites are not gonna imprison their own just to look fair in the eyes of black people. They know that their status in this country was founded in the blood of native-americans and africans to a greater extent. Whites have gotten away with a lot of ish in this country, they know this to be true. We focus on whitemen all the time, but are they the greater evil? If blackmen are the “victim” so to speak, Why are blackwomen being railroaded by the system all the damn’ time? If it’s about sisterhood, Why the imbalance within the legal system? The reason i mention whitewomen, is because, they’re the largest population and voting bloc in the country who vote democrat by and large. Both parties have bloody hands, but democrats claim to be allies of blackwomen at the same time. Most large cities are left-leaning for the most part, therefore, the vast majority of prosecutors and judges will be liberal in their ideology. Most conservatives that i know would be outraged about a case like this because it defies common sense. Ignore the likes of Sean Hannity when it comes to cases like this, his brand of conservatism is warped. A lot of folks on the right don’t like him anyway, because, he’s not consistent. The same Hannity who defended George Zimmerman every night on his show. If Hannity has any credibility as a man, he’ll fight for this sista to be free. If he doesn’t, another faux conservative on Fox News Channel…Go Figure! Republicans should be worried about this case. They complain about blacks not voting for them, What are they gonna do to right the injustice that was done to this sista? As you all know, i’m an elephant. If Gov. Rick Scott and democrats as well don’t fight like hell for this sista to be free, i’m done with both of them for good. We can’t allow this insanity to continue in this country.
Tyrone
MindScape
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@ SW6
Not to derail, I’ll leave you a post on Open Thread.
@ Dave Myers
Mr. Myers,
I’m sorry to say that NOT ONE THING blacks can or will do to change the lowly opinion whites have of us. Most whites, especially Americans, have a terrible disease called either/or thinking.
If they are good, you MUST be bad.
PERIOD.
I’ve given up on them. I know that sounds awful but why lie? They are the originators of racism and they, not us, hold the key to changing their mindset.
And from what I’ve seen, heard and experienced, they never will. There’s too much at stake…for them.
@ Sharina
Once again, blacks and coloureds have proven that our undying spirit is the cause of such hate. I’m sorry for your and your family’s plight. Stay strong.
@ Abagond
This is all just an elaborate design to start that little race war they’ve been wet dreaming about.
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@ Tyrone
Well stated.
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JIM CROW IS ALIVE in 2012. That all this is a new way to implement Jim Crow.
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@truthbetold
This country has fallen hard in my eyes.
It can’t sink any lower.
Last night, Brothawolf said, ” It’s open season on black people. ”
How right he is.
Open Season on Black people I have been saying that ever since President Obama got into Office.
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@ Son2380
Jim Crow will change as we change, grow as we grow. Racism keeps it constantly moving and growing smarter… to trick us into believing that WE are what’s wrong!
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@ Anyone
Do you think most whites ever think to themselves whilst they are hurting us, “Is this the right thing to do? Will I get a punishment from God??”
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This was my blog post before the verdict:
http://brothawolf.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/justice-for-marissa/
It comes as to no surprise that there are some people who see that justice was served in Alexander’s case while Zimmerman is seen as the innocent victim unfairly arrested and charged.
Tyrone and Sharina,
This is a glaring example of the power of whiteness within this country’s justice system. It’s so strong that it deforms justice for “protection at all costs”. Some whites are deathly sick this illness, and some are behind the corridors of the criminal justice system.
I can’t think of any other reason why Alexander’s and Zimmerman’s cases were pursued the way they did.
Truth,
Like I always say, it is certain white people who want a race war more than anything. After all, they are the ones who bring it up at every chance they get. This is what they desire, a sound reason to not just imprison blacks, but to exterminate them without remorse or consequences.
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Truth,
I think some whites think that it is God’s will. Hence, they think what they’re doing is basically good just how whites see themselves.
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@Abagond
Also, Rico Gray not only had a history of violence agaist Marissa Alexander, but he also had a history of violence against other women as well.
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@Tyrone
Al Sharpton was the one who broke this story last week on Politics Nation and he covered the verdict yesterday on his show. So yes Al Sharpton is coverin this story.
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@Sharina
Did this person of a warrant? or was under arrest? if so the cops can legally go through your pockets for any deadly weapons or any of the ilk. if she was not being arrested than that would be illegal search and seizure. Crack is crack in the eyes of the law, regardless on how you have it, you have it. and the burden of truth is too the defendant. I do not know about your state, but my state has never given me a free drug test lol.
Now as far as why the police had arrested her at the spot for assault with a deadly weapon.. after the Treyvon incident do you expect any police officer too NOT make an arrested regardless of any situation? The police department is not the city hate machines. They are other people of other walks of life not wanting too get into trouble for doing their job, such as the man who let Zimmerman off because he made a decision that everyone believes was the wrong decision.
I am not debating anything you are saying Sharina.. but my posts, which I hope is pointing too the fact that when this is all done its still the peers who decided her 20 year fate.
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This is an excellent link that provides documents and victim statements regarding this case:
http://www.scribd.com/lincoln_jr_5
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Some commentators suggested that they were thinking of leaving the USA.
Where on earth can African Americans find solace?
Personally, I would never, ever live in the USA given how this country treats minorities.
But that begs the question…as an African American, where else can you go?
Canada could be a good alternative in my opinion because the culture clash wouldn’t be as brutal as other countries in the world if one has the desire to move.
Don’t get me wrong, racism is still very present in Canada but I don’t have the qualms of being gunned down by police officers/self -appointed vigilantes when I’m walking down the street.
Does anyone have other suggestions for another place to live?
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HD,
Right now, I can’t recommend anyplace that doesn’t have oxygen, water, food, or plantlife.
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@ HD
http://blackexpat.com/new/magazine-archives/2009-new-year/reverse-migration-black-expats-in-ghana/
Don’t know how up to date this information is, but it is a start.
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@ HD, Brothawolf, Anonymous,
What I find so sad, is that black people, who have spent their entire lives in this country, who’s ancestors have, are being made to feel that they would be happier if they left. It actually is making me want to cry.
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@ stevenhaws
The young woman I was referring to was white and it was a routine traffic stop from what I remember of the case. This was way before Martin or Alexander. It was in 2005. They thought they smelled weed on her and decided to search her. Not saying she wasn’t smoking it, but why would it be in her money (I guess they may be use to that at times). Them opening her money she had no idea it was there. My point is that is is a biased open season on not just blacks here, but poor whites as well. I remember the prosecutor in her case calling her white trash.
That story was not a good one in regards to bias cops, but great for the biased attorneys, who I might add, dropped the drug case of a middle class white man that same day. Not to mention the lead solicitor resigning in our area because she refused to prosecute a woman who broke in and stole from the courthouse. They pick and choose on a whim and on a daily basis.
I get what you are saying about the jury handing down her fate. I also told you I agree in regards to their bias. All juries are and if anyone believes they are not they are fooling Themself. I personally can place biased in the whole system though because it is biased from the inside out. I am curious about who did serve on the jury though.
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@ stevenhaws
Don’t get me wrong there are good cops, but there are also a lot of bad ones. I read once (can not remember which police force it was) that one police force actually had to fire everyone and do a rehire because the corruption was so bad. This was a long time ago, but it still applies today. You have corrupt veteran cops training new cops.
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@ Ace
You are right to feel that way. The African American situation in the USA is a calamity. Most people dismiss it or undermine it because they are unable to wrap their heads around the issue. It makes me very sad as well when I think about it.
@ brothawolf
You expressed on a previous post that you have got enough of the USA if I am not mistaken. So if push comes to shove and you have no other options but to leave, where would you relocate?
@Anonymous
Thanks for the info. Very insightful.
However, it would be extremely hard for the average African American to move to Africa. It is possible but very challenging because African Americans don’t have direct ties to the African culture anymore. It would require a lot of strength for one to achieve that. I don’t think I would be able to do it.
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I agree with many commenters that law enforcement in America is a bigoted tool of a white supremacist society.
That said, my longstanding understanding is that “warning shots” are legally terribly dangerous for the shooter. At best, they are legally equivalent to shooting your target. At worst, the use of a warning shot undermines your ability to claim self-defense.
The often-encountered legal position is this: you are only legally justified in shooting if you are in imminent danger of death or grievous bodily harm. If you have time to be taking half-assed measures like warning shots, your danger wasn’t as great as you claim.
There’s the further issue of criminal negligence. A bullet must go somewhere, and in an altercation it’s essentially impossible to exercise due care and place a warning shot carefully. Warning shots very often constitute criminal negligence.
My understanding is that you’re better off killing your target, legally speaking, than firing a “warning shot”— whether you’re white or black.
It’s worse in Florida. The 10-20-life law essentially mandated a long sentence for Marissa once she was charged and found guilty, and as shown above, self-defense was always a risky claim, especially since ballistic forensics disputed her account of events.
Sad to say it, but she should have taken the three years in jail that she was offered- especially in the context of a white supremacist society.
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@ Adrian
I agree and understand where you are coming from. I just wish the law was made of common sense some times. No one died and it is sad that the law is pretty much saying that a life is not valued. I think given the situation 20 years is extreme and that law needs to be re-evaluated.
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Part of me asks why we should run from a country we helped build with our own sweat and blood, on account of people whose spiritual and literal lifespans are becoming ever shorter.
This latest push to marginalize and relegate blacks to the shadows is one generated out of desperation and pure fear. They know what’s coming and that there’s precious little they can do to stop it.
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Don’t care if she disobeyed the judges orders she does not deserve 20 years in prison. These people don’t have one ounce of justice in their bones.
Abagond, thanks for clarifying.
“They felt that if she was truly afraid she would have left through the front door, the sliding glass door or the window of the master bedroom.”
Conclusion- Zimmerman was clearly not afraid and since he killed an innocent person should face a 50 years minimum (if justice is Ms. Alexander serving 20 years).
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To those thinking of leaving the US:
My father was a Black American, and my mother (a white Jewish Canadian) was going to give birth to me in the US where they were living at the time. He specifically asked her to make sure I was born in Canada so that there would be no issues or impediments to me having Canadian citizenship and growing up here. Does this mean that Canada doesn’t have tons of racism? Hell no. But it does me that my father understood that my life choices, my quality of life and my safety would all be enhanced by being born and raised north of the border.
Today, I’m grateful for my parents’ decision. I prefer being a Canadian citizen and think I have received a better quality of life than I might have if I’d lived in a similar community, but in the US.
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There should be more to her case than that, otherwise I’d think you were talking about a sitcom you were watching. This is just insane.
What happened next on the show? Did george z. announce his run for office of president.
What is Marissa supposed to say at her parole hearing “I’m so sorry I didn’t murder someone, I’ve learned my lesson, I promise to do that the moment I get outa here.”
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HD,
Honestly, I don’t remember saying that on another post. I might have. But anyway, I don’t know where I would go where life would be easier. Plus, I don’t have the financial means to travel outside this country.
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I person that put her life in danger in the first place wasn’t white people but a black man. Let’s not loose site of the cause for her needing a gun.
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@ Mack Lyons This latest push to marginalize and relegate blacks to the shadows is one generated out of desperation and pure fear. They know what’s coming and that there’s precious little they can do to stop it.
Oh yeah? What’s coming?
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@ Mack Lyons (@DDSSBlog)
I totally hear what you are saying.
The situation in the USA has reached a point where not all African Americans can endure what they are being subjected to on a daily basis.
Sometimes enough is enough.
I was wondering what could be a reasonable alternative for an African American who cannot do it anymore.
My parents immigrated in Canada and I was born and raised there. They could have ended up in the USA but destiny has decided otherwise. I can say with certainty that I am glad I wasn’t born in the USA. There is no way I could have cope with this situation. More power to our sisters and brothers who can.
@ Mamzer HaKodesh
This is exactly my point. Thanks for your comment.
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@ SLEEPYCCS
No one said the abuser was not at fault, but what good is it to put her in jail for 20 years. Does the abuser boyfriend have some type of pull on the jury or the courtroom we do not know about? I think not. Rico Gray did not sentence her to 20 years. She did not deserve to be sentence for that long in an act to protect herself. Let’s not loose site of the issue in deed.
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@ Mack Lyons
Don’t even attempt to answer that ^^^^^^. It is a derailment waiting to happen.
@ Duck
I guess what is coming you will have to wait and see when it gets here. It’s for Mack to know and you to find out. Now, on with the topic at hand.
Didn’t Marissa’s incident happen before Trayvon? I think it is ludicrous to charge someone based off what could have happened. She could have shot the child? Zimmerman DID shoot and kill a child. That is like someone speeding getting arrested and charged with manslaughter because they could have hit and killed someone who is walking down the street. All I have to say is be care who you go on trips to Florida with. They might be trying to kill you or get you placed in prison.
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@ HD,
Yeah it really bothers me. How can people who built this country in chains be the ones who treated like they’ve done something so wrong (by existing in a way that isn’t convenient for American society) that they should feel like an immigrant in their own land. It seems so wrong…
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. If you aren’t white in America, either you are a perpetual foreigner, treated like a disease, or quarantined to places that they gave their “permission” for you to live in.
@ Mack Lyons,
Yeah, that’s exactly why it upsets me. Why should black people feel like they would be better off as expats because bigots can’t share the sandbox? And yet, I can understand why black people would just be…weary. In 2012 they’re still being told they aren’t people, let alone citizens worthy of equal protection under the law.
@ Sharina,
I’ve got cops in my family. They were usually the ones sent to the brown and black neighborhoods, since they thought they would help “placate” the people there (and these guys were NYPD, during the Malcom X era). The truth is that cops are forced to deal with the dichotomy of their society, like everyone else.
The bias starts with the average citizen and goes all the way to the top. If there weren’t bigoted citizens, there wouldn’t be biased cops, and with that there wouldn’t be a disproportionate arrest rate or account of violence. If the prosecutors and judges weren’t bigoted there wouldn’t be so may demands to “lock those people up and throw away the key” for even minor offenses. If the jury weren’t bigoted, then we wouldn’t have ever had a man acquitted because people on the jury looked like him (or have a man convicted because the jury sees a criminal branded by his skin color).
But the truth about bias is that even an unconscious bias can be defeated with conscious effort. They don’t HAVE to see blacks as dangerous, they choose to. And thus, we are at the point we are at. In the end, everyone shares the blame for what happened to this woman; they could have chosen to see her as a person worthy of protection, but that’s just not what black women are there for.
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@abagond, don’t you think you aren’t following your own rules when it comes to black commenters. How does this woman’s excessive jailing have to do with “God’s will to punish all the white people” Simply ridiculous. Oh I know “it’s just venting.”
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@ Dave
If you have a problem with something I said then address it.
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@ Cleonette Don’t even attempt to answer that ^^^^^^. It is a derailment waiting to happen.
Ae you his momma or something? He’s a grown ass man and you’re going to tell him what he can and cant say. Good Lord!
@ Peanut lol my comment was thrown to moderation cuz i said cr*ckers
You should read the things that send my comments to moderation. hehe
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@ Ace
I agree with you there. I am really at a point of no way to address the situation. People who actually do not see bias is very far and in between. This applies to citizens and the pyramid of the justice system. I hate it because people put so much hope in unbiased in the justice system and it is just not there.
I know that we as black women paint ourselves as strong, but we are women none the less. Why is it that we are not to be protected from the abuse of a man? I hate that this is the question on my mind in 2012.
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Yup 20 years in the slammer. How dare that She-Boon “stand her ground”?
Stand your ground is for good, law abiding citizens who just happen to be white.
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Also like too ask, why would you put your own children into danger? according too what Abagond wrote, she went into the vehicle and pulled out a gun to see the victim in the kitchen, this is giving reasonable amount of distance, standing with her two sons. I just don’t personally see a man who would clearly see a gun at her side to charging.. and taking shots with children who would have been in a firing danger zone if she did take aim at the victim.
just picturing this whole thing in my mind from what I am reading.
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@ Steven Haws I just don’t personally see a man who would clearly see a gun at her side to charging..
I charged a guy with a gun. But not til after the sob shot in me in the face. Otherwise, I wouldnt have even moved. So I agree with you. No one is going to charge someone with a gun unless they have to.
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@ Steven Haws
If you are going to picture it then don’t think rationally. A lot of abuser actually feel they have instilled so much fear in a woman that she would never pull the trigger or bring any harm to them. That is why he would have had not one problem charging at her.
The fact that he had the children there glorifying in the abuse says a lot to me and if I was DSS I would take those children from him. He is basically telling those boys this is how you teach women to obey. He is also setting them up to be shot one day if they try that on a woman.
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If it really is so that it is better to kill someone than shoot a warning shot from a legal point of view, then those laws must be really fked up.
As for those racists who bring up the race war all the time, that is their desperation showing. They know that they can not turn back the times no matter how much they wish. So the only option left for them is to create a violent situation, which then leads into polarisation, and hope that this will buy them some more time. It is the old old conquer and divide. It is the same method used by every extremist group from Afganistan to Norther Ireland etc.all trough the history.
But those racists forget one thing: this time they can not kill everyone, nor scare them into submission. Why? There are too many who have the information, abilities, education etc. Burning crosses, lynching, shooting, no matter what, they no longer can not stop what is unavoidable: USA is no longer a white country. It is multiclutural, multicolor, versatile etc. Too many blacks, too many latinos, too many asians, too many mixed people…
They will do their atmost. They will try every trick in the book. They will use the law, they will use the courts, they will use the prisons, but like Nelson Mandela said in one interview long time ago: I knew that this system of opression would not last for ever. Why? Because they were so few and we were so many, even among the whites.
This is something that the racists forget. They are so few, and we others are so many. It is simply the numbers. They will loose eventually, no matter what. No matter how it seems to be right now.
They did everything to stop Obama. Did they? No. Why? The numbers. They were actually too few. In reality the racists could not stop a black american to become a president, even though they used everything in their playbook other than assassination. They just could not do it. They are too few in reality. They try to convince you that they have the power, that they have the “silent majority” behind them, but what the Obama victory really told to the world was that they do not have any majority behind them. They are too few.
Right now, it seems, the racist System in USA is running full speed. It is running amok. That is because they got scared. They got a jolt, a lighting hit them. If the president can be a black man, then nothing is safe anymore!!!! They are in panic. In reality it is them who are running scared. Scared people get violent. Sacred little people will get aggressive. Hostile. Simply because they know they are loosing.
Just read their comments and notes and sites. “White race is under a attack! White race is under a siege!”. This is how they feel. That is why they are in total panic, in total horror. A black man in the WHITE house?? There really is nowhere to run anymore. No church, no house, no street, no wilderness, no river, nor lake, no sea, not even the air, which would be just for the whites. No safety. They know it.
And just like in South Africa, just before the systems collapses, it gets ugly and violent. They are its death throes. Spasms of a dying culture, dying system. Yesterdays men are trying to stop the world. Guys living in fantasies trying to force them on reality. Scared little boys acting tough, scared old men looking how their world is dying with them, bitter and confused.
We who live these times, these days, must remember the fact. Racism is dying. It is on its way out. It is fading. Those who scream loudest hurt the most and who are the loudest? Those racists whose world is slipping away. Perhaps not today, not tomorrow, next year, but never the less, it is fading away. Why? Look at the numbers.
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@ Sam
Waaah! haha
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@Sam – I hope you’re right about the impending death of racist culture, but I’m not sure. People of colour are still a minority in America, numbers-wise, for one thing.
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Learn more about the Stray Bullet laws in Florida. My girlfriend gave me an extensive education on it since she’s spent years in the legal and law enforcement field in that state. If she had shot in the ground or shot and hit him, she would probably be home.
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Considering that prosecutor Angela Corey also aggressively charged Zimmerman (2nd degree murder), doesn’t that imply a degree of consistency within the justice system there?
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The result seems so wrong, especially in light of the Dooley case (also out of Florida). The media’s reporting of legal issues is facile and usually inaccurate. I’d be interested in seeing the written briefs filed on this. In these matters the devil frequently lies in the details.
Nonetheless, one of the arguments made by the Second Amendment zealots has to do with women using firearms to protect themselves from domestic violence. Typically, police in these matters respond, if at all, long after the violence is done. Thus, a woman’s use of a gun in defense against this type of violence would seem to be the archetype for acceptable use of a firearm.
Oops, perhaps I spoke too soon about Trevor Dooley. I though he had successfully invoked “Stand Your Ground”, but it appears not.
http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/05/14/florida_black_man_denied_stand_your_ground_defense_highlights_controversy_around_trayvon_martin_case_.html?tid=sm_tw_button_toolbar
Maybe there’s still hope in the Zimmerman prosecution for an actual conviction. In the meantime, the result in Alexander and Dooley underscore the wicked cynicicsm in the statements by various Sanford officials that they were “prohibited” from arresting Zimmerman because of “SYG”. Bullsh#t. “SYG” is a defense raised in court, after arrest. It’s not up to cops to act as judge on this issue.
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@Sam
not sure what exactly this has to do with the topic post.. we went from Florida SYG laws, too a rant about a giant hate machine.
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@ Abagond
I’m glad you posted this…
I need constant confirmation that what I feel is real and not me going crazy.
I’m also glad that you allow these white racist commenters to come here. They are single-handedly proving EVERY point we’ve been saying since birth.
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@ Vince
That is my point though. Is a person’s life not valued? I think they would appreciate that no one was hurt. I would think they would appreciate that a warning was given. I guess if she had hesitated and he got the gun and shot her he would be home right now.
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Reblogged this on revealingartisticthoughts.
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“Just read their comments and notes and sites. “White race is under a attack! White race is under a siege!”. This is how they feel.”
Funny you should say that. It reminded me of the woman telling people to vote against gay marriage because it would reduce the white population or something like that. Here’s the link:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=senator%20wife%20on%20proposition%208%20preserve%20caucasian%20race&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpamshouseblend.firedoglake.com%2F2012%2F05%2F02%2Fwife-of-nc-state-senator-says-amendment-one-is-necessaryto-protect-the-caucasian-race%2F&ei=NAezT86mMIWi8gSH4sH3CA&usg=AFQjCNGRyGpKv7M7r7UTBRcR2kc-huoeOQ
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ok I looked at this case and you are right. There definitely seems to be a double standard with this “stand your ground”. It seems like this law needs to be revised and if it isn’t maybe vote some of these law makers out. I’m not saying don’t defend yourself either. But there definitely is a fine line. In this case I think she maybe went a little over board. Could she have left? I don’t know. But if she wanted to kill him I don’t think she would have missed as bad. The media was making it like it was a near miss. But 20 years? how is that good for her kids? yeah , maybe they were traumatized. But I say not having a mother for 20 years is alot worse. There have been cases, however, where women were given light treatment. But in this case they really threw the book at her.
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cont……
I think they should have taken the gun. Because a gun in a hostile home environment is never good. There is more of a chance someone in your house gets hurt then actually defense against an attacker. She could have called the police on the guy. I don’t know maybe she did and they did nothing I have seen that on my street where they just tell someone to leave and cool off and they are back there the next day beating on the poor girl. So maybe she felt like she had no choice. Either way no one was hurt so there is no way 20 years is justified. Maybe the DA is racist there?
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@ Dave
It is hard to say who is racist and who is not anymore. I am curious on the evidence they had in this case that concluded she was guilty. Only information I have found so far says she went back and that is the reason they concluded it was only an anger shot. I’m curious on what she went back for.
Regardless 20 years is in no way acceptable.
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@Sharina but after she went back was he trying to stop her from leaving? or was she so fed up with the abuse she made a bad choice? I don’t know. But she obviously made up her mind not to actually shoot him in the fateful moment so she should get SOME credit for that if that was indeed the case. I would say first offense………six months maybe. Counseling?
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To Steven Haws and Duckduckgoofs:
Steven Haws who said:
“I just don’t personally see a man who would clearly see a gun at her side to charging.”
Duckduckgoofs who said:
“So I agree with you. No one is going to charge someone with a gun unless they have to.”
It happens, about 10% of the police officers who died via gunfire in the line of duty in the past decade were killed with their own gun.
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2010/11/robert-farago/washington-post-more-cops-killed-by-their-own-gun-than-straw-purchases/
Given that Rico Gray had a history of abusing Ms. Alexander, and given what I read about abusers, I find it plausible that he may have advanced toward her even though she was armed.
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@ dave
I think counseling is a must. Not just for her but the kids.
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It’s almost like if she did shoot and kill him, if her story is correct, and the defense and forensic people could prove he did charge at her,…. with bullet entry, and where he landed, and what not…… then she would have more of a defense. It’s like they are punishing her for taking pity on her attacker. Like human life isn’t worth anything?
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@ Dave, Sharina,
It’s like she would be in an unwinnable situation.
I’m curious why they’re putting so much emphasis on the fact that she went back. If she had kids there, why wouldn’t she? If she forgot her keys, why wouldn’t she? I wonder why they think that her returning somehow negates any fear she might have felt. It seems like they’re having trouble even considering her as a victim of abuse and hence, they’re not looking at the situation in a way that recognizes how abuse makes these things very complex.
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I first heard about this story on CNN. They were talking about working women and somehow this case got brought up. They reported that the bullet just missed his head. Obviously that was misreported. These media people should also be held accountable. They always (Like Hollywood) based on a true story. Back in the day if a reporter misrepresented facts of a case like that they were held accountable and the newspaper would have to write a retraction. Why are we letting them get away with this. It’s like we have all become brainwashed drones who think we have no power and that’s what the people who ACTUALLY run this country want. Are most of them white?………yes. But they could care less about my butt about as much as yours.
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cont.
she still could have a chance to either retry the case or appeal. I don’t know if that would be in front of a judge or jury. But either of them could have seen the CNN acount of the incident as I did and be swayed. This media is getting out of control. I don’t know if you guys ever heard about the Amanda Knox case in Italy? American Media was making it out that in Italy the jury is allowed to view media so that make their system very flawed in comparison. I really used to believe that …………now I am not so sure lately.
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@Uncle Milton
Yeah that is pretty much my wifes stand point on that. I just cannot think like an abused female, and my fight or flight is usually set on flight just because no one gets hurt.
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@ Ace
I was not aware her kids were there. I actually only thought his kids were; her stepsons. I think the emphasis on her going back is a cop out. Some excuse to put her in jail. Not to sound like a cliche or anything, but they always go back, especially if the kids are there. I am getting confused on the story though because I am trying to figure when she went back. Was it before this incident of the shooting or after?
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My apologies if this was already posted but I didn’t see it. This is the prosecutor’s response:
http://www.thegrio.com/specials/trayvon-martin/angela-corey-lashes-out-at-critics-of-marissa-alexander-prosecution.php
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How the hell do you receive a twenty year sentence and you didn’t even kill anybody?! Can someone please explain it to me like I’m a four year old because I just don’t get it. SMDH.
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@Mochasister it was three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, let alone child endangerment. apparently the minimum sentence of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is 5 years in Florida… at the minimum she could have gotten 15 years.. three counts= 5 years, 5×3=15year minimum.
if you have 5 apples, and you get 10 more apples you get 15 apples.
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@Mamzer Hakodesh
White americans are no different from other whites, the same bs is taking place all over the globe. What distinguishes white americans from whites in europe, middle-east, and the americas is power. America is the richest and most powerful nation on the globe, therefore, american anglos are at the top of the food chain. Doesn’t mean that spanish and middle-eastern whites are less racist, they have less power. The United Kingdom spanked Spain and Portugal to acquire the crown, the two Iberian nations are the genesis of racism. It’s important that we as black people know who the major players were and are as it relates to slavery and racism. As AA, we focus most of our anger on the ex-brits. That’s all well and good, but, we can’t let S & P off the hook either. We’re running in circles if we don’t shine a light on all of them. In order for us to really decode the race issue, we must go back to “The Source.” Spain, Portugal, England, France, and so forth. Spaniards have escaped the scrutiny of american blacks for a long time, No Mas! I mention this because it matters. If we don’t know who the players are on the field, What type of gameplan are we gonna implement to score sistas and brothas?
Tyrone
MindScape
son2380…Thanks for the info. I’m not a fan of MSNBC. I check it out while channel-surfing. I don’t have patience for the network because they only present one side of an argument. I’m a conservative, but, i’m black first. The race issue is where liberal and conservative blacks stop the bulls**t. We can disagree on other issues, but, as it relates to our sista Marissa Alexander and other sistas and brothas in the same situation…U-N-I-T-Y! If Marissa is gonna be freed, it’s not gonna be because of Sharpton. He’s not gonna make a big fuss, because, he would have to confront the hypocrisy and racism of whitewomen in this country. Blackmen in both parties are scared to call out whitewomen, because their voting power is strong, especially with democrats. Journalism is occupied with a bunch of whitewomen who are living high on the hog due in large part to the suffering of blackwomen in this country…Real Talk! Whitewomen don’t wanna get knee deep in mud if you know what i mean brotha?
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There are people who murder and molest kids that get less time.
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the woman got charged because she was not standing her ground as the law states zimmerman was , this has nothing to do with race, or gender.
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@circusboy9010
What brought you to the conclusion she was not standing her ground?
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I don’t believe that 20 years without an injury or fatality is fair, at all. I do, however, see her actions as reckless and there was a possibility of one of the children getting hurt/killed, especially considering the newborn. A suspended sentence with long term probation is quite enough.
Now that that’s out of the way I believe that her race plays a big part in how she and her actions are perceived, Had she been white she would be free and coddled by the justice system while the gun maker offering its sincerest apologies.
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@Dave Meyers and everyone else for that matter….
I am so sorry that you all have had such horrible life experiences with white people. I can never begin to imagine the hurt, turmoil and loss that you have felt in your lives. Please know that it is not your responsibility to change white peoples minds. It is THEIR responsibility as individuals to humble themselves and face the truth of the pain that they have caused. I myself am a self-proclaimed Enlightened Racist-by my own definition is a Knowing Racist or an Unknowing Racist that has become humbled and enlightened and is in the phase of educating themselves and listening so that they are able to be free from Racism. I was an unknowing racist and claimed to be not racist until I did a search for “why are people racist?”…that is when I cam across this site. Well I was definitely humbled just reading everyone’s posts and Abagond’s blogs. I Felt like the biggest ass in the world for thinking I was not racist and finding out that I had asked my friends or strangers questions that I now know are racist after reading posts on here. I am ashamed and I am not yet sure how to approach my friends without hurting them more. They have never once told me I offended them but I cannot shake the feeling that I did. I will apologize to them and keep educating myself on what is offensive. But I want do more than that….So I ask ….What can I do to make a change? What steps or processes would you suggest that I take that would not be offensive or hurt you? Please know that I am sincere and not some ignorant troll.
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Kudos Sam,
That was an awsome comment on racists and their inevitable, miserable FATE!
I read it with great ebullience!
“This is something that the racists forget. They are so few, and we others are so many. It is simply the numbers. They will loose eventually, no matter what. No matter how it seems to be right now”
I totally concur with you!
How can a black victimised woman get a fair and just legal process especially in a country like America?
With it’s artful legal sistem!
When it comes to a black person let alone a black woman, legal principle like: “Equal justice under law” is pretermited.
According to Francis Bellamy’s Pledge of Allegiance:
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
……….indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, my *********************
Although it has drawn criticism and legal challenges on several grounds like;
My Flag” to be changed to “the Flag of the United States.
In order that the new immigrants would not confuse loyalties between their birth countries and the United States, and the issue of “one nation under God” which failed to agree with the rights to freedom of religion, the removal of the Bellamy salute due to it’s resemblance with the Nazi salute.
Upright verdicts!.
“The Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions that students cannot be compelled to recite the Pledge, or punished for not doing so.”
I think the main reason for that is that, for most of them deep down in their hearts they dislike the phrase: ” with liberty and justice for all.”
They must have, perdon, keep saying to themselves: ” what liberty and justice for all, are you joking? Other minorities especially our plummist preys Blacks can never have equal liberty and justice. We must see to it that, that never happens!”
When it comes to a black person, the whole thing is twisted, facts are often altered and represented falsely so they can keep going on with their subjugation and the so-called white supremacy.
I call it “White EVILNESS”
@ Stephanie Baldwin
“Marissa Alexander wasn’t the first Black woman being convicted for protecting herself against male aggression. There’s an almost 60-year old case of Ruby McCullum, who was sentenced to the electric chair for defending herself against her white aggressor.”
And unfortunately i don’t think she will be the last.
_ truthbetold
@ Green
“She is guilty of Living While Black.”
You’ve said it all.
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@ dave
You’re right Dave on Amanda’s case, the case is well known here in England because the victim Meredith Kercher was English.
I could remember how the American Media described the connectedness between the Italian media and their legal system.
I could also remember my state of mind when the final verdict was given.
I could rember that my heart wept for Troy Davis who was recently executed at that time.
I know it had nothing to do with Amanda Knox’s case but my heart wept because from what i gathered there was no cogent evidence against Troy Davis.
Yet he was executed.
R.I.P Troy.
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apparently they offered her three years, but she went against the judges order and confronted the man, which apparently is why she got the 20 years, she got it because of her own damn ignorance.
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@ Steven Haws
If they offer you a plea deal and you did not feel you did anything wrong would you take it? I think not. Who wants to plea guilty when they feel they are innocent of any crime, especially if no on was hurt. That is not her being ignorant that is what any logical person would do.
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@ Steven Haws
Read this article: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-05-11/story/jacksonville-woman-sentenced-20-years-prison-stand-your-ground
She was offered a plea deal in which she declined and it was offered to her because her oldest son came forth to change his testimony in regards to the case. The 3 years you are referring to is what was offered in that plea deal. This article talks about the deal http://www.theage.com.au/world/wife-gets-20-years-jail-for-warning-shot-that-hurt-noone-20120520-1yylk.html.
This was already set in motion. She was not given 3 years, went back to husband or confronted him, and then given 20 years as your post suggests.
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15688 982216I admire your piece of function, regards for all of the intriguing posts . 61147
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[…] Marissa Alexander – is Stand Your Ground only for White people? […]
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Inspiring article about how Marissa survived her experiences in prison through inner strength:
“In Her Own Words: Marissa Alexander Tells Her Story”
http://www.essence.com/2015/03/04/marissa-alexander-exclusive/
“My faith was really tested on March 17, 2012, the day I received that guilty verdict. I got back to my cell and just cried. I told God I was so angry and hurt, but I was going to trust Him anyway. Even though I was in an environment where I could see no sign of God whatsoever, I still chose to believe. Sitting there in my cell, I was suddenly inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down everything that had happened. For three hours I sat on my bed and wrote. When I was finished, I gave the letter to my family and my attorney and said, “Get this to anybody who will read it.” One of the first people I wanted them to contact was Nancy Lockhart, a woman I’d read about in an old issue of ESSENCE magazine I had found in jail. [Legal analyst Lockhart helped bring attention to the plight of Mississippi sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott, who had been sentenced to two life terms after being found guilty of an $11 robbery. Their story was featured in the November 2011 issue of this magazine.] Ms. Lockhart put my story online—and that’s when people started coming out in support.
I was so overwhelmed when I began receiving letters from people all over the world. That encouragement, along with my lawyers, family and my best friend, Joyceline, who wrote me every single day, helped sustain me through my darkest moments.”
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@ Speak out
Thank you for sharing.
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“Feminists We Love: Marissa Alexander”
http://thefeministwire.com/2014/07/feminists-love-marissa-alexander/
Q: “Given what’s at stake and the prevalence of domestic violence in this country, why do you think Ms. Alexander’s case hasn’t provoked more attention and commentary from US anti- domestic violence organizations?”
A: “I have heard anti-violence organizations in Florida and elsewhere express fear in taking a public stand on behalf of Marissa’s freedom. I think there are several reasons for that. First, most of these programs provide “victim services,” and human services are ridiculously underfunded in this country. Those organizations are set up to prioritize their funding over political principles in a context of scarcity, which undermines their political autonomy. Also, anti-violence funding is sometimes administered through local or state criminal justice offices, which ends up being a conflict of interest if those same offices are prosecuting survivors that organizations are (or should be) supporting. The other issue is that anti-violence politics has veered towards pro-criminalization policies over the last 20-30 years. The Violence Against Women Act, passed in 1994, was part of a larger Crime Bill that was instrumental in building the current prison crisis. My hope is that Marissa Alexander’s struggle for freedom will inspire this community of workers, feminists, and advocates to seriously question the impact that funding priorities and pro-criminalization policies has on our ability to support survivors — especially black survivors — and challenge us to urgently address these problems in our organizations and social movements.”
Q: “Why is Marissa Alexander a Feminist you love?”
A: ” I don’t know if Marissa Alexander self-identifies as a feminist. I hope to talk to her about that someday. However, from my perspective, her actions to value and defend her life without apology are deeply core to a black feminist ethic. Her ability to make critical life-saving choices, her unapologetic rejection of the State Prosecutor’s original so-called plea deal of three years in prison because she did not believe she did anything wrong, and her consistent ability to survive nearly three years of incarceration and ongoing prosecution with grace and faith has been a source of light for me and many others. The complexity of her choices transcends tired tropes like “strong black woman” or “permanent victim.” I hope feminist, racial justice, and other social movements can learn from Marissa’s practice of continuously affirming her full, complex, beautiful life, and reflect her insistence that black women’s lives matter.”
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This article is so one-sided and ultimately bias and wrong. The author didn’t mention that when she fired her “warning shot”, she was arrested and booked. but, released on condition that she was not supposed to see her “abusive” husband. However, she tracked him down in his new home and violently attacked her husband causing eye damage. That’s why she was sent back to jail. and the author failed to mention that she was offered a plea deal of 3-5 years but thought people would have sympathy for her, instead they sent a menace to jail. STOP LYING.
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@Martin Delaney
Cite sources or provide links to back your version of the story.
In other words, prove it!
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