PARDON FOR MARISSA ALEXANDER? – Forgotten Majority

SENATOR WANTS ALEXANDER PARDONED
Posted: August 5, 2013 – 6:06pm
Courtesy of Florida Times Union

State Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, wrote to members of the Florida Cabinet on Monday, asking them to support his call for a pardon for Marissa Alexander.

Last year Alexander was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a clash with her husband in which she fired a shot into a wall. The Jacksonville woman invoked a “stand your ground” defense but was found guilty and sentenced under the 10-20-Life mandatory-minimum statute.

Now, in the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Trayvon Martin, Alexander’s case has drawn additional attention as she appeals her sentence.

Bullard noted to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam that Gov. Rick Scott would require the support of two Cabinet members for Alexander to receive a pardon.

“She was denied a defense under Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ protections, and was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” Bullard wrote. “Surely Ms. Alexander had a clear right to defend herself and not retreat from the middle of an altercation in which her life and safety were at stake.”