When Marissa Alexander was charged with firing a gun in front of her allegedly abusive husband, she tried to use Florida's Stand Your Ground law as a defense — just like George Zimmerman. But for her, it didn't work. Now some are asking if her case is a “reverse Trayvon” situation.
Marissa Alexander.
Via: facebook.com
1. Alexander was charged with aggravated assault for firing a gun in front of her husband and stepsons.
This much is not in dispute: in August 2010, 31-year-old Alexander had a fight with her husband, 36-year-old Rico Gray. During the fight, she fired a single gunshot into the ceiling of her Jacksonville, FL house. She was charged with three counts of aggravated assault.
2. She says it was self-defense.
On the blog Justice for Marissa, she writes, "In an unprovoked jealous rage, my husband violently confronted me while using the restroom. He assaulted me, shoving, strangling and holding me against my will, preventing me from fleeing all while I begged for him to leave." She says that she tried to run away but became trapped in the garage, so she got her gun — which she says is registered and holds a permit for — and went back through the house. Then, she says, Gray shouted, "bitch I will kill you." So "in fear and desperate attempt, I lifted my weapon up, turned away and discharged a single shot in the wall up in the ceiling."
3. He might be telling a different version of events.
A man believed to be Gray told the site Politic365 last week, "Marissa is not portraying herself as she is, I was begging for my life while my kids were holding on to my side, the gun was pointed at me.”
